The Little Touches

Last week my Mom and Dad were here for a visit.  We had so much fun with them, I can't wait to do it again.  I'm still grinning!  For me, this visit was a HUGE milestone.  I've always struggled with being organized; not just with our stuff, but with my time as well.  My house was my battleground, where I waged war with the burning desire to divert from the planned course to follow that illusive something "shiny".  So, when Mom and Dad would let us know they were planning a visit I would literally fly into a flurry of activity, trying to organize and clean the house within in an inch of its life.  I kid you not, one time I scrubbed the walls, and if you were to ask me why I couldn't, for the life of me, tell you.  Little by little it got easier, I relaxed a little more, I got comfortable with my home, with the state of it.  I like to put in the extra effort when company comes, but I don't take it as far as I did before.  But.... there was always a flurry of activity.  Finishing up a project I started and got discouraged over, clearing out the clutter or at least taking the donate bags to the store.  Tackling the plethora of hotspots and ill used spaces, and my list could just keep growing, but I'm sure you get the point.  This time it was different.

This visit was monumental for me.  For the first time I can remember, there was no flurry of activity.  With the one exception of organizing Travis's Office/the Guest Room, nothing I had to do was anything I wouldn't normally have done.  I didn't scrub the windows till they sparkled (though they do need a cleaning) I didn't scrub down walls just because, I didn't take a tooth brush to the baseboards ... no crazy life or death struggle for a state of perfection that just can't be reached when you actually LIVE in your home.  Sure, I gave the office/guest room a deeper cleaning than normal, and yes, I did spend some extra time and pay extra attention to the guest bathrooms, but I did that because I COULD, not because I felt compelled to do it.  And you know what?  I had time left over to add some special touches to those two areas.  And I wasn't worn right out when my parents arrived.  (I also didn't turn into a crabby, snapping, crazy lady either, for which I'm sure Travis and the boys are grateful)

The first area I tackled was the Guest Room.  I took a little time to cover up some of the visual clutter in the room and add a little touch of autumn.

I added a couple makeshift bedside tables, and dressed them up with a lamp and a stack of books.

They're just a couple of barrels with glass tops.  Under the glass I added a few leaves and I tried to pick out books I thought might interest my Mom and Dad.  We're readers in our family, so this was a fun way to continue to share that.  For my Dad I chose two Clive Cussler books from different series, and a non-fiction book about our home-town hockey team.

For my Mom I chose Janet Evanovich.  I remember she had said that she hadn't read them yet, so I thought I would start with "One for the Money".  I added a book of poetry, and an old copy of "The King's General" by Daphne du Maurier.

After that I turned my attention to the bathroom.  I wanted to add a little something special but not go too over board.

In the bathroom I added a basket to the counter top.  I haven't had a chance to stock up on guest items yet, but I'm hoping over time I can build up what we do have.

I also brought in the glass jars from our room to dress up the window sill.  It was fun to make things pretty, to add those special little touches that I normally overlook because I'm so busy trying to get the house perfect.  (Why is it that simple, little things like cotton ball and swabs look so pretty when you put them in glass jars?)

Wanna know a secret?  I forgot to dust the baseboards!  Wanna know what else?  I don't think anyone noticed, and it certainly didn't ruin the time we had with Mom and Dad.

Have you ever gone overboard getting ready for company?  What fun little things do you do for guests?

Little Things Can Make All the Difference

Over the last few weeks I've been slowly reworking some of our organizing systems.  Tweaking them to fit our new home and the demands of a busy school year.  In my mini adventures I've discovered something that I never really thought about before:  Sometimes it isn't the system that needs tweaking, sometimes it is the items around it that are causing the problem.  Case in point, the paper part of our drop zone.  It was slowly getting out of control, and I was kind of lost as how to fix it.  Then one morning I was making coffee and an idea hit.  Maybe it's the stuff AROUND the drop zone that is causing interference.

Problem Area

Pretty cluttered huh?  This is why the problem started.  In our old home, our kitchen was seriously lacking counter space.  So we had to pick and choose what we kept out.  The coffee maker and kettle won that contest as we use them almost daily.  The espresso machine, coffee grinder and french press were given homes in cupboards and the pantry, and we used them less and less.  Travis is a BIG coffee fan, and it always made me a little sad that he couldn't use the espresso machine more.  When we moved into our new home and saw this part of the kitchen that was kind of apart from the rest, we both thought the same thing "Coffee Zone".

Coffee and Tea Zone

I love having access to everything, but it sure did make for a very full countertop.  I used trays to help keep like items with like, and to help make it easy to clean the counter, or move the items out of the way if we needed some extra counter space.  Then I added the file box as part of the drop zone  (because it makes sense there) and it got even more cluttered.

Drop Zone Before

While we both love having the espresso machine out, we weren't really using it.  On the other hand, we've had unseasonably warm temps here, and aside from morning coffees and evening teas, we weren't really drinking warm drinks.  It didn't feel right to hide it away again, but I wasn't really sure what else to do.  Since I wasn't sure how to solve this problem, I left it alone at first, but day after day it niggled at me.  Every time I walked by or glanced at the area it bugged me, and kept bugging me.  Then one day I pulled out some of our platters and inspiration struck.  

Lots of Space

This cupboard is directly beneath the coffee zone.  That empty space was where I was storing our pitifully few serving platters and trays.  Pulling them out gave me an idea.  

Clutter Be Gone!

I moved some things around in the cupboard, and made room for the items that didn't really need to be on the counter.  The grinder, french press, and espresso attachments are now all stored within easy reach, in the cupboard.  I put them on a tray so that when we want to use them they're easy to pull out.  I tucked my muffin tins and loaf pan in behind them because I don't use those very often.  And on the bottom there, you can see how little serving platters we have.  So, what was the result on the counter?

The Beautiful Afters

What a difference!  I'm totally thrilled with the results.  I only moved a few items, but it made a HUGE difference.  I used trays again, just cheap plasticy ones from the dollar store.  They're there more to protect the counter than anything else.  Especially with the coffee maker being under the microwave shelf now.  Having it on the tray makes it easy to slide it out to get the coffee going and to slide it back out of the way!  And the drop zone?

Drop Zone After

That's much better too.  It is easy to get to it.  I have it on a tray too, this way if something spills on the counter the paper stuff won't get wet.  Eventually I want to get a better tray for it, so that I can move it to the table to sort through.  For now though it's doing the job it's supposed too.  

Just for fun, here's one more before and after for you.

Problem Area

Problem Solved!

And in case you're wondering where the carafe and sugar bowl went, I typically keep them on the table with me while me I'm working.  Less back and forth means more work done for me.  (less shiny objects to snag my interest!  lol)  When I'm done with them they sit in front of the espresso machine. 

Anyone else made some small changes lately?  Do you ever find that the little things can make the biggest difference?

Linking up to:

New Spaces, New Challenges

Our New Home

Welcome to our new home!  Isn't she pretty?  As you can tell, I haven't really had a chance to jump in and decorate the front porch type area yet, we just put out a couple of chairs for now.  My focus has been more on the inside rather than out.

I have officially reached the unpacking phase where I am sick of unpacking.  It's not really unpacking anymore, it's more "finding a home for the last of the odds and ends".  I say odds and ends, but most of the items left to find homes for are items that are needed and useful, and frequently called upon.  Mostly I just need to get motivated, find a place to put them and call round one of organizing this place done!  What better way to get my butt in gear and find that motivation than to share it with you fine folks! (the house, not my butt!)

Our New Front Door .  No wreath yet, but I'm kind of liking the sunflowers.

Not much to really share today, just the entry and linen closet, and perhaps the world's most boring before and after pics.  (no, seriously, they are boring!)  But why take my word for it?  Come on in and see for yourself....

This is what you're greeted with when you first walk in.  That little table is actually our old baker's rack, I just asked Travis to remove the upper shelves.  It's working ok in here for now, but I have plans to change it out down the road.  

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Just a closer look at the decorations.  The flowers and leaf garland are from my wedding, the little basket is from around the house.  The book is life's contribution.  Time will tell how this set up will work.

This is one of the things that I really love about our new home . . . the stairs!  Not just because two levels means more room, but the stairs themselves are open and bright, and I just really like them.  lol  That closet you see there?  That's the linen closet!  Remember the one we left behind at our place?  (Here)  It was more like a cupboard.  The extra space is really nice, and it is going to take a little thinking and using before I figure out how best to organize it and keep it organized.  

When we first moved it, I just quickly put stuff in there, to get it put away and out of the way.   Over the last few weeks I've noticed that it is really easy for me to just sort of toss things in, and this is what it was looking like.

Kinda Empty, Kinda Messy

There is no rhyme or reason to how things were put away.  I think I was trying for a system but I'm not quite sure.  As you can see there is LOTS of space, and it helps that it was linen laundry day, so it's more empty than normal, ha ha ha.  Are you ready for the after?  This project literally took me ten minutes.  Making up my wish list took longer than the actual organizing did.  

Nice and neat once again!  It really didn't take much.  Refolding a few things, grouping like items with like, you know the drill.  And wasn't I right about the boring before and afters?   Boring or not, it felt good to get it sorted out.

I've got things loosely organized for now.  Top shelf is sheets, pillow cases, mattress pads, and a few things like vacuum bags, frilly curtains that belong to the house, but totally could not stay hanging up in the "man cave".  

Next shelf, is towels.  Again I have them loosely organized.  The boys' towels on the right, ours and guest towels on the left, and hand towels and face cloths in the middle.  The shelf underneath has no real purpose yet, though part of it could be used for extra bathroom supplies down the road.

Finally, spare blankets!  It's really nice to be able to store everything together, I plan on using part of this shelf for guest items, like sheets, blankets etc... Now that we have the room, not just for linen's for the guest room, but room for guests, I can't wait to start putting together stuff to help make guests feel at home.

Though I am thrilled with the extra space in our new home, I'm realizing that more space doesn't really make organizing any easier, it just presents different challenges that need to be overcome.  Willy nilly stocking of the linen closet is just one example.  And I now realize that having systems in place are just as important in larger homes as they are in smaller ones.  To help me keep focused on staying organized, I made up a wishlist for items/ideas for the linen closet, so that over time I can slowly get it set up and prettied up.  They are, in no particular order:

• Clear bins/containers for smaller bathroom extras
• Labels, labels and more labels
• Shelf dividers to help keep folded items contained.  
• Pretty baskets to hold items for guests
• Small cubbies or wine rack for hand towels and face clothes.
• Cleaning caddy for upstairs cleaning  (more on that in a different post)
• Hooks or other wall mountable solution for holding a broom/dust mop

I can't wait to slowly start making this new home more suited to our needs.  Being renters presents nice challenge of working with what we have and getting creative and thinking outside the box when it comes to decor choices or organizational solutions.  

And that concludes the tour of the entry way and linen closets.  I know it's not much of a sneak peak, but I'm hoping to add more and more pics up as I finish up spaces.  Has anyone else tackled a small project lately?  Or a large one?  Any tips for not accidentally creating drop zones in our new home?

Dashed Hopes and Changing Plans: An Update and Explanation

This was supposed to be THE post!  The one I've been waiting and waiting and waiting to share,  "Where, oh where, have I been hiding?"  Instead, I'm here with an update.  I'm sure THE post will come at some point, but today is not that day.  So, what's been going on and why haven't I been around more?

We received and accepted an offer on our house ... yaaaaaay....(if you only could hear how feable that yay sounded like in my head.  It's probably closer to yaaaaay)  Don't get me wrong, the offer was very reasonable, everything was ticking along nicely.  The closing date was a short time away, but we didn't mind that.  I was scrambling to get everything lined up, planning the last of the packing, figuring out what extra days Travis's needed to take off, looking for a home to move to, and all that other wonderful stuff.  We were just waiting for the approval date (I'm sure that's not the technical term, but you know it's that "upon completetion of home inspection, upon approval of financing" date written into the offer) and let me tell you that was nerve wracking.  I feel. as though I have spent the last few weeks trapped in a strange limbo, ready to jump at the go signal but yet unable to really and truly move forward.  I haven't been able to really focus on much of anything, as the waiting consumed my thoughts.  Instead I focused on the boys, and on allowing myself the time to zone out, knowing that in a few short weeks I would need to be at the top of my game, focus wise, to pull this move off.


My stomach was in knots for days, and then weeks, as our buyers asked for an extension The significance of the new approval date didn't click in until it came and went with no word.  July 9th, is now in the running for my least favorite date this year.  Why is that date so significant?  Well, I'm sure my Canadian family and friends will understand without further explanation (especially if they are in the process of buying or selling a home) but allow me to explain.  Our federal government has decided that Canadian household debt is too high, and to help lower that they made some changes to the rules for mortgages.  Those rules took effect on July 9th, and our buyers got caught in the crossover.  (Personally, I don't think that was fair, and my heart really and truly goes out to them)  

Here's a general idea of what kind of new rules we're looking at now.  They lowered the amortization period from 30 to 25 years.  Home buyers now need to come up with 20% down, (first time home buyers are at 10%) for more info here are a couple links to articles about it:

http://www.cbc.ca/news/business/story/2012/07/09/bmo-mortgage-housing.html

http://www.canadianmortgagetrends.com/canadian_mortgage_trends/2012/07/new-mortgage-rules-kick-in.html

So, what happened next?  Well, our buyers still wanted to go through with it, so they looked at the options they were given and tried to get it all straightened out.  We got the news yesterday that it wasn't going to happen.  :-(  Not totally surprising, but still upsetting.


We've now entered the fourth month of living apart.  Travis and I are both weary of the situation, heck, we're just weary.  I'm tired of living from phone call to phone call, then desperately trying to cram quality time, not just couple time but family time as well, into the brief time he's home.  I want to be able to put a plate in the fridge for him every night, go to bed knowing that if he's not home when I go to sleep, he'll be there when I wake up.  I miss all the little, simple things of life together.  And so, the time of hoping is at an end; it's time for action now.  We can no longer wait for the house to sell before completing this move.  August is almost here, the boys are both starting school in September, we need to get this done and over with before then.  I'm not entirely sure what this new plan will look like.  We've been discussing it off and on for a while now.  What I do know, is that it means a lot of new changes, and I've been spending some time trying to get it all figured out in my head.

In the mean time, I'm going to be hopping back into the world of blogging - no more hiding my head in the sand- and I'm already working on a printable (or three!) to share with you all.  The HMB has been put on hold for a little while, but everything else will continue along.  And, keep your fingers crossed, hopefully in the next few weeks I'll be able to share some more moving tips with you, and I'm hoping to share some "sanity saver" ideas with you all as well!

I hope that these last few weeks have been really good for all of you, and that you are enjoying your summer!


Take care! <3

Making It Work: Bathroom and Linen Storage

One of the biggest hurdles in a small home, is making the space work for you and your family.   Often times it seems like the hardest working rooms are often the smallest, or most ill equipped for the functions they have to serve.  In our home, the bathroom was no exception.  Because of the way the lighting was done, we took out the over the toilet storage tower, so that it didn't feel like you were showering a dungeon.  :-)  Which left only the small cupboard in the vanity for storage.

With four in the home, and only the one bath, this presented quite the storage and organization dilemma.  We tried installing a cheap medicine cabinet in place of the mirror, and it worked... kind of, but the mirror part was so small and it had to be hung so high up it didn't work for Liam.  With the home going on the market, I replaced the cheapo medicine cabinet with the original mirror.  We lost some storage, but not really enough to make much difference.  For a while there I also had a shoe organizer hung on the back of the door.  This worked fairly well for corralling items, but it was also kind of awkward.  We couldn't open the door all the way, it didn't look very nice, and I didn't think it would work with potential buyers wandering through the house.  So what's a girl to do?

Added to that is the awkward placement of what I call the linen closet.  It's at the far end of the hallway by the boys room.  I won't complain too much, at least there was one, but it was so far away from the flow of the main area that it just wasn't functioning as it should.  And it was hard to keep neat and tidy.  So, lets add that to the bathroom dilemma.

And lastly, which turned out to be the solution.  I have the cupboards above our washer and dryer.  When we first moved in, Liam was a year old, so this became my cleaning product storage.  It was great to have it up and out of the way, not to mention made my life pretty easy when it came to keeping house.  Throw in a load of laundry, stock the caddy with the supplies for the day and away I went, but the time the washer was done, so was I.  Transfer over the clothes to the dryer, put away the cleaning supplies, and DONE.

Aside from the cleaning supplies it's also been home to my craft supplies, we used the top shelf for storing not often used items, and generally wasted the space.   Which brings me to the solution.

I had an epiphany one night while giving Liam his bath.  I had to walk all the way down the hall to grab the towel (he was 4 by this point, and he sang to me the whole time I was out of the room)  It would have been so much nicer if the towels were closer to the bathroom.  Sure, my craft stuff (that I was hardly using) was right at my finger tips, but the towels were so far from the bathroom.  Light bulb moment!  Why not store my craft stuff in the "linen closet" and the towels above the dryer?  That lead to more thinking, more tweaking, and then we had a system that functioned soooo much better for our family.

The cupboards over the washer and dryer became home to towels sheets, face clothes and spare blankets.  (sorry for the picture quality, these were the only photos I could find of these spaces for before shots)  And the "linen closet" ...

Sooo much better right?  It turned out to be a great storage closet.  My craft supplies fill one shelf, spare storage containers, baskets and empty boxes fill two more.  The computer towers are Travis's, he's a tech, and likes tinker with computers when he has the time.  I actually moved those into there from our mudroom closet, and move the cleaning supplies into that closet.   That made sense too, since that's where I store our vacuum and mop.  And that empty shelf... well it was great to not have filled the closet.

This system worked for the most part, and then we found out we were moving, and I had to rethink alot when it came to getting the house ready.  So, some changes happened.  Here's what we have now:

Packed up a lot of stuff, and moved the spare blankets into the linen closet.

Still have some extra storage containers and boxes for electronics, and I removed the bottom shelf to allow the hampers to slide in, and get them out of the hallway!

Moved the laundry detergent and fabric softener into the cabinet.  Also have room for dish clothes and towels.  Top shelf is for extra sheet sets and pillow cases.

Here we have bath and hand towels on the bottom, excess bathroom items on the top.  Close enough to the bathroom to easily grab them when needed, but not taking up realestate in the bathroom.

Popped cotton swab, cotton balls and bath salts into pretty clear jars, corralled them on a tray on top of the toilet.  They add a little sparkle meets functions feel.

And the vanity cupboard.  It hold everything we need on a regular basis.  And there's room to add a little more if need be.  

And there you have it!

What about you?  Have you had to think outside the box, or room, for meeting storage and organizational needs?  Do you have a hard working room that's a little on the small side, or lacking in functional storage?  How did you tackle it?

Craft and Office Organizing

***** Warning:  This post is going to be picture heavy *****

Well, I'm two days into my "Around the House in 40 Days" challenge, and I've got the first project done!  Woo hoo!!!  I decided to start with the office and craft stuff because when those are in order, everything else seems soooo much smoother.  And also, because I have a feeling I'm going to be needing quick access to many of those thing through out the next 40 days.  Because I took so many pictures, I'll keep my commentary to the bare minimum. 

The number one goal with this project was to keep only what I'll use, and only what I have room for.  Keeping in mind that I might have to pack this stuff up, I was able to get it all in order, pared down a little, and most importantly, put away in their new homes.  

I do apologize for the state of the pictures.  As you'll see, these are problem areas, and I'm hoping that with the new order of things will help keep the areas neat and tidy.  

Desk

Office/Craft Stuff Stand

Guess I wasn't using that drawer, lol

Bin of Craft Stuff

What was left in the Office Trunk. 

The pictures make me think ... eeeek!  First because of the cluttered areas, and second because of the poor use of space.  To make it easier I cleared out all the areas, made a trip or two around the house to hunt out any other items that would fall into the these two categories, and I sorted as I went.  (I think the in process pictures are worse than the before pics)

Not too bad right?  But if you turn around and look into the living room, this is what you see:

This is ordered chaos!

It may not look like it, but this is sorted and organized.  

Then I started putting everything back.  The items I use most went onto the desk, within easy reach.  The items we don't use often, like our long term files, video camera, owner manuals, extra paper, etc.. went into the trunk, and the stand now hold ALL my craft supplies, the home management library, and some books and magazines.    I'm really quite happy with how it turned out.  Are you ready to see???

The car drawer now hold all the little items we use regularly.

I don't actually use the desk for writing, so lack of surface space isn't an issue.  Now I have the note books I use most often, and my favorite pens in easy to tote containers for when I want to set up shop on the dining room table.

Some reference books, my daily file box (in pink) and the file box with my Grandma's writing in it . the tape dispenser (that I moved up out of the reach of Liam) and my extra markers and storage box for the camera and it's cords and charger.

Awww... neat, tidy, and so easy to get at what I need to get!

Yep, this is the same poor over crowded shelf.  Now all neatened up.  The basket holds my most used craft items like scissors and punches and ribbon, the boxes to its right are for envelopes and greeting cards.  Below is the rest of my craft and sewing stuff and a magazine file containing a few magazines and books that I like to keep on hand for ideas.  And of course, the binders that make up our Home Management Library!  The best part: the top!  It's completely clear!!!

And our trunk!  Magazine files hold spare lined paper and coil notebooks, printer paper and photo paper.  The basket in the middle is the new home to all our owner's manuals, and the accordion file tucked in neatly to the side.  A few odds and ends that we don't use often but still need to keep on hand are tucked in there as well.  And the best part, we use the trunk as a coffee table, so this piece is doing double duty.

And that concludes the first project.  It may not look like much, but boy does it make a BIG difference!!  I'm so happy with it!   What do you think?

I'm not sure what's up next, but I can't wait.  Don't you just love it when everything ends up nice and neat???

I hope you have a wonderful weekend!!!