Progress in the Entry Dilemma

Hello everyone, how is your week going?  Our week has been a really weird one, my days are all mixed up. Liam was home on Monday recuperating from a tummy bug.  On Tuesday he had not one but two Christmas concerts, and it was so wonderful to watch him perform in his first concerts.  The children did such a lovely job, it was so sweet to see all the kindergarten and grade one children dressed up like little bears.  Yesterday was the only some what normal day this week, and today I have Liam home with me again.  Whatever caused his upset tummy on the weekend seems to have worked its way lower, so I opted to keep him home, just in case.  And tomorrow we have Liam's field trip.  He going skating for the first time, and I can't miss that one!  Yes, all in all, it's been a busy, crazy week.

Despite the craziness and the full schedule, or perhaps because of it, I've been noticing little areas around the house that need some serious attention.  Not being one to shy away from a challenge, I decided to tackle the worst one yesterday.  Our old house had a whole room for an entry/mudroom.  In our new home we're not so lucky.  Our entryway by the front door is a good size.  The coat closet in the entry is a good size.  You would think good sizes would make it easy to organize a landing zone for all of our outdoor needs.  Not so much.  You see, while the size is great, the flooring is not.  The front hall is done in laminate flooring, and we all know that laminate does not like to have moisture sit on it.  This has proved to be quite a challenge, especially since we live in a very rainy environment.

Thankfully, there is an alternative that doesn't involve me having to mop up the floor every time we come in.  We can come in through the garage, into the laundry room (which had lino floors!).  I didn't give a whole lot of thought to how I set it up when we first moved in, I was more or less just looking to get it set up.  No good systems in place mean things get messy pretty quick.  Here's what it looked like yesterday before I got my hands on it.

It wasn't an easy room to photograph.  This shot was taken standing in the door from the hallway.  As you can see it was getting pretty messy.

This one was taken a little further into the room.  The umbrella was hung there on purpose, so it could dry.  Just one of the many reasons why this room makes sense to use as the family entry.  (and yeah, the rental came with a top loading washing machine :-(  )

And this is looking into the room from the door to the garage.  Not a pretty sight at all!  But I have plans... oh do I have plans. I really only have two walls to work with in here, when it comes to using vertical space.

Because opposite the washer and dryer is this closet.  Which would be an incredible blessing if it wasn't already full.  Behind those doors are our furnace and hot water tank.  As those are kind of important things, I won't complain too much.

First step was to clear out the room.

If I could have, I would have left it empty!  It looked all pretty and open.

Next step was a good cleaning.  With the room as empty as I could make it, I took advantage and gave everything I could reach a good scrubbing.  Then I worked on my plans.

 I pulled out my handy dandy room organizer and started making plans.  It's always good to have a plan when you tackle a space.  In this case, my plan will need to be implemented over time, but that's ok, we have a direction for this space.

Next up I started to put things back in. I had a few things I wanted to include in the space, like something to make use of the back of the door to the hall.

I wanted to find a way to include storage space for winter gear like mittens, hats and scarves, and I wanted to make space to store my mop and broom in here, since there really isn't a good place to keep them in the kitchen.

Here's what I started with.

In theory I thought this would work.  In practice, it doesn't.  I didn't want to put the taller shelf back beside the dryer because I wanted to be able to put the broom and mop in that corner.  Having the shelf here severily impeded access to that corner.  And from the hall it looked awful!

See what I mean?  Since my long term plan calls for installing four wall shelves, I decided to ditch the wire cubes and get a little more creative in short term solutions, and have patience while waiting for the long terms ones to be implemented.

Since all my laundry supplies were in a small tub, I simply set them on top of the dryer.  This effectively killed  two birds with one stone.  I was able to remove the ugly shelf, and since there is something already on the dryer, I'll think twice before putting other items on it.  No more drop zone (I hope)  The mop and broom are super easy to access now.

And the view from the garage door is better too.  I laid down a couple throw rugs, that I will eventually replace with a proper runner, but for now they are doing the trick nicely.

And the back of the door?  Ah, this is the part that, for me, brings it all together to function as our entry way.

(sorry for the crappy photo, it was the only one I got of the back of the door, and my batteries died before I could take another one)  A simple over the door hanger and there's a place for our coats and some of the winter gear.

To make it workable for Liam I simply added some 3M hanging strips to the back of his wall hook plaque and attached it to the door at a good height for him.  Now he has a place for his backpack and coat.

All in all, I'm happy with how it turned out.  My plans for the future will make it even more organized and multifuntional.  They include:

• hanging four shelves on the window wall.  2 per side
• towel hook for by the sink
• small shelf for beside the dryer
• wall hanger for the broom and mop
• cubbies for shoes and baskets for hats and mittens
• drying rack or line of some sort

Pretty basic I know, but in making my plans I'm trying to be mindful of the fact that we are renters.  Our landlord doesn't mind if we put up shelves, as long as we patch the holes and repaint if/when we move.  But still, I don't want to be putting holes willy nilly into the walls.  

So, what didn't go back into the room?  My cleaning supplies and rags.  They are going to find a new home.... somewhere... not sure where yet.  Yes, that is a HORRIBLE organizing plan I know, but I'm toying with a few ideas.  For the moment they are stashed under the kitchen sink.  Which is another area that has really been bugging me lately, so maybe that will be the next zone I tackle.

Do you find that life's busy times highlight organizational problems in your home?  Do you ever add more to your already full to do list because you just can't stand to let one more day go by before getting to a project?  Would you rather tackle a project in stages, or wait until you have everything and do it all at once?

Displaying Christmas Cards

It has been a super busy week here.  One of those weeks where I'm so busy I don't know how I could possibly fit in one more thing, and yet everything is sort of ticking along really nicely.  I've even been able to hop on here to share a few posts.

Earlier this week while Travis was setting up the tree, I was busy decking the halls.  Our staircase is open all the way to the second floor, and I absolutely love it!  I love how open and airy it feels when you walk in the front door.  Just like the mantel I was eager to decorate our stairs for the holiday season.  

Again, I kept it kind of simple.  Last year was the first time in 6 years that my family was able to be together for Christmas, and my Mom got to do something she has always wanted to do.  She filled stockings with little things, things we would need, things she thought we would like... and she wrapped them all separately.  Her and my Dad must have spent a month just wrapping stuff.  My favourite was the Sharpie pens she gave me!  She wrapped them in pairs, loved it!  I wasn't sure what to do with the stockings, so I thought I would hang them from the banister.  They actually fill that space really nicely.

There wasn't room for all four, I'm still looking for the right spot for the last one.  I'm totally in love with this area.  Every time I come in the front door I'm greet with a little Christmas cheer!  I was really happy to just leave it as it was, but I started thinking about Christmas cards, wondering where to put them... then I had an idea and gathered up my supplies

Don't the pushpins look like mini Christmas balls?

It was really easy to make the card display. I simply punched a hole in the card.

Then I inserted the push pin.

And attached them to the stocking.

I can't wait to add more.  Now, here is what I'm greeted with when I come in the front door.

I'm really happy with it.  There's plenty of room for more cards, and when the stockings are full, I can simply use left over ornament hangers and hang cards from the garland!  

How do you display your Christmas cards?  Do you have a special place for them?

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New Nostalgia

When the Computer is Away the Blogger Will Play

My computer spent Thursday and Friday visiting with my husband's computer.  My operating system was being kind of twitchy, and my incredible, amazing, techy god of a husband very kindly offered to swap the OS on it for me.  So he spent 2 days backing everything up, installing a new OS and putting everything back for me.  He's a total sweetie!  Now, I get to have some fun relearning this OS and getting into my groove.  With my computer unavailable, I was a little lost.  I spent some time getting caught up on housework, and then I turned my attention to a little space that was in desperate need of some organizing.  One where the systems I thought would work, weren't working at all.

My almost emtpy, office nook.  I had to move the desk out of there for now.  The light from the afternoon sun was shining right on my computer, and I'd rather have the blinds open during the day.  But that left this space empty and an undefined space is a magnet for clutter.

The cluttered buffet.  Not too bad, but being on the wall by the entrance to the kitchen made it an easy target for those random items to start collecting.  And finally, the reason my husband found it painful to watch me have to pack everything up at the end of the day when I was using the dining room table...

Scary right?  Actually, this is pretty normal when I'm in the middle of a major project, or three.  That pile of stuff on the right hand side, is actually stuff I was using.  It may look like a hot mess to you, but that's the physical manifestation of my creativity at work.  Strangely, I function better like that than I do with everything in neat piles or filed away.  However, once the project is complete, everything goes away.  For the most part I like a neat work space, the messy times are reserved for creative stuff.

But as you can see things weren't working as well as I had thought.  That meant, back to the drawing board. Some times it takes a few tried to get everything just right.  I had been meaning to do a minor update to this space, but with computer busy getting all new and shiny, I thought I would tackle some major changes to the space.

Step one:  I used my room organizer and spent some time figuring out what this space needed, and how I could make it work for me.

Step two: Empty out the space.

Nothing to see here....

...or here!

Step three:  Sort, sort, sort.  With all the hubbub from getting the house ready for sale, then the selling of the house (yes we did finally sell it... yay!) I've pretty much pared down as far as I can go.  Everything I have, I use, or have a planned use for, with a few extras thrown in for surprise projects like "help your child build a wagon for their teddy bear at the teddy bear picnic next week".  But I still didn't skip this step.  Though I didn't get rid of anything, I did find a new way to store it.  :-)  I didn't take pics of this process, I kind of figured you didn't want to look at more mess.

Step four:  Clean the empty area and create a plan for putting it all back together.

Step five:  Put it all back together.

So what did I come up with?  Well, I finally gave up on trying to keep it pretty.  Functional was the name of the game all the way.  So the first items to go to a new home elsewhere were my wedding bouquet, and the two statues on the buffet.  They were taking up too much space.  In their place I dressed up some magazine holders.

Here's a side by side before and after comparison.

I've been pricing out pretty magazine holders, and decided to just two that I already had (here they are in the last photo on the post) and dress them up.  I picked up a pillow case from the dollar store, and finally joined the club, and bought some of the Martha Stewart bookplates.  I figure there are enough tutorials out there for covering things, you probably don't want to see another.  I just traced out the holders, added about 2cm extra (about half an inch) cut out and glued in place.  Added the bookplates and was done.  Best part, the pillow case was $2.00 and I only needed half of it, the bookplates were $4.99 for 6, total cost cost of updating the magazine holders was http://orgjunkie.com/2012/11/favorite-organizing-links-command-central-decluttering-tips-free-printables-more.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed:%20ImAnOrganizingJunkie%20(I'm%20an%20organizing%20junkie!)http://orgjunkie.com/2012/11/favorite-organizing-links-command-central-decluttering-tips-free-printables-more.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed:%20ImAnOrganizingJunkie%20(I'm%20an%20organizing%20junkie!)under $2.00/each.  Love that!

Since I was already on a DIY roll, I dressed up some empty coffee tins with scrapbook paper and ribbon that I already had on hand.  Added some stick on labels, again that I already had, and instantly had pretty holders for my sharpies and scissors.

And here is what the buffet is looking like now.

I moved the file-box off my desk.  I wasn't using it as often as I thought I would.  It was taking up valuable work space.  I still need access to the files, but not often enough to warrant desk space.

The peel and stick calendars really help fill in some wall space.  More importantly they'll help keep me on track.  Right now I'm testing having one for household stuff, one for blog stuff, and am using the middle for our actual schedule, kind of like my own copy of our family calendar.  Hopefully it will help me plan out my time better.  These were another Staples buy, I found them in the clearance section.  Regular $14.98 marked down to $9.99 with an additional 50% off because they wanted them gone.  Total cost $4.50 before taxes, I don't think I could have DIYed 3 dry erase calendars for that price.  And if they don't work out in the office, I have a few other homes picked out for them.

Inside, I changed things up a bit.

Since I stole our paper storage (magazine holders) I needed to find a new way to keep our paper neat and tidy.  I opted to use the drawer.  I can find what I need quickly.  The box on the left hand side is holding some odds and ends.  It's mainly there to help keep the paper from sliding around.  Down the road  I plan to pick up more trays like the black one.

Inside the cupboards I moved things around, some items found new homes elsewhere in the house.

I already had these white containers, I just popped on the bookplate so I can label them.  They're holding spare notebooks and paper samples.

With the extra space I was able to fit in our accordion file and my scrapbook paper storage.  I love that they are now tucked away, but easily accessible.

This little rolling cart has been moved over to the window wall.  All I really did with this was dress up an old magnetic board with some left over pillow case fabric, and put in on the front to hold some extra little office supplies.

They're now within easy reach.

And last, but not least, my desk!

I am in LOOOOOVE!

Remember my Office Inspiration post?  Well, I picked up my first item off my wishlist, this pretty little mail sorter from Martha Stewart Home Office.  It's holding everything I need and use daily. It can also stack onto other items from the same line, which means that down the road I can add to it.  Gotta love an organizer than can grow with you.  It was the biggest splurge at $14.99, but let me tell you, I wandered down the office storage aisle at our local Staples, and similar products were more expensive, or were made out of that cheap, ugly black plastic, and would have ended up costing me around the same after DIYing them.  So, it was well worth it!

I tucked my pens into a pretty cut glass vase I already had.

I needed to raise the computer up a bit, it was too low sitting on the desktop. The little wire shelf was one I already had on hand.  The bonus with the shelf is that it frees up some space underneath.

I already had the little wooden tray and I picked those little bowls up for $1.25/3 at the dollar store.  They're perfect for holding the little items I use most often.  Paperclips, binder clips, and then in the center are page flags, post-it notes, as well as some stick on divider tabs.  They're right where I can get to them.

And here is the space as a whole.

I've still got things I want to do.  I have some plain sheets that I'm hoping to dress up with fabric paint and turn into a desk skirt or cover to make the folding table look pretty.  The rolling cart is going to get a few coats of spray paint, and I'm toying with ideas for the window, and new window coverings.  Right now I'm thinking a faux roman shade might do the trick, but we'll see.  And the blank wall needs some sort of storage system, perhaps a book case or two, I'm not sure yet. I plan to dress up some clipboards to hang up on one of the small walls by the buffet, and possibly do a memo board on the other.  So, I still have a ways to go, but I'm getting closer everyday.

And you know something?  I'm totally in love with it.  Once I gave up trying to use the top of the buffet as more of a decorative space and embraced it as essential office real estate  it freed up so much more space on my desk and inside the buffet itself.  Now this space is really feeling like an office.  More, it's feeling like MY office, and I'm loving that.

Total cost to get it to this point:  $27.23 (plus all applicable sales taxes)  It's a win all around!

Do you have a space you just can't leave alone?  Do you ever find yourself changing things up alot until you find what works for you?  Any suggestions what to do with the window?

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