AT's January Cure: Living room refresh

Alright, can I ask you something? Am I the only one who's had  30-seconds tasks on her to do list for five years? Seriously. Today we finished something that took 30 seconds. And we've been meaning to do that ever since we moved here, actually I think we meant to do it in the old house. 

So, yeah, I'm still working on AT's January Cure. In fact, we've been tackling so many of the little things, and the larger projects we just didn't get around to.  Or didn't do because, frankly, sitting on the couch with some cookies and hot tea is way more fun after a long week than causing a giant mess in your house by cleaning, purging and rearranging.

And it does make a mess. Funny, but for me cleaning and purging always makes a mess. Yes, technically there is the outbox for that, but somehow stuff just ends up all over the house, waiting to be returned to its original place, waiting to be found a home for or waiting to be dealt with in some other way.

Like that huge white drawer full of DVDs that has been sitting in my living room since last week -  removed from the TV chest that we've removed and waiting for us to digitalize the DVDs. Or the stuff from the outbox that we've been putting up for sale. Not to mention the two large laundry baskets full of magazines that I am slowly making my way through.

I hate that. Isn't organizing meant to make your house nice and clean? Sigh. Guess it'll take another couple of days until the last things are put away / recycled / sold.

But let's look at what we did get done:

8. Keep Yourself on Track: Get a Get-Together Together

Uhm, well. Not really doing this one. We have a birthday coming up at the end of the month, and while we did use the Cure last year to prep for a party, this year we've decided to just send the kids off to the grandparents and enjoy a nice weekend for two. Much better reward for all that hard work if you ask me!

9. The Clutter Filter: Create a Landing Strip

Still working on this one. We've rearranged a few things in the hallway and I did add a wooden bowl we had to throw in keys and such, but I need to take a trip to Ikea to buy some wall organizer I can use for storing brushes, lipstick and other accessories for getting out the door quickly in the morning.

10. Unplug for an Evening: Try a Media Fast

Instead of getting out my laptop, I went through stacks of old magazines last week. The result? A big stack of magazines ready to be recycled and not much done in terms of blogging, editing photos or starting the 2014 edition of my annual photo book. Not sure I like this. I think I do need the time when the kids are in bed to be creative - well, as creative as my brain allows me to once it's half-asleep from a long workday. But you know what I mean. What I did find is that it actually makes sense to close the laptop once I find myself mindlessly browsing Pinterest or worse, shopping for things we do not really need might urgently need at some point in the future. Once my brain refuses to wake up, I might just as well go to bed. Revolutionary, I know.

11. The Halfway Point!: Project Progress

Not the most productive of days, but I did some prep work for the big living room rearranging all week, so maybe that counts... ahem. 

12. Weekend Chores: Flowers, Bedroom Cleaning & Wardrobe Organizing

Lots of progress over the weekend. Not on the bedroom though, mind you. But hey, if you can get your significant other to help you with that goal project you've been meaning to do, you're not gonna go and clean out your closet instead, are you? Didn't think so. Besides, my closet will get it's semi-annual clean-out when it gets a tad warmer and I can pull my Spring wardrobe out and sell all things I am not delighted to see again plus all things that didn't get worn all winter long. 

Only bedroom progress was cleaning out my sock drawer and doing the regular weekly dusting / vacuuming / mopping. 

But, folks, we did go from this:

To this:

And all just with rearranging and purging. We got rid of a ton of things, including the already mentioned magazines, lots of technical equipment, DVDs, CDs and countless other things that were just there because they had a place.

Do you have that, too? Things that live in your house simply for no other reason than that there is space on the shelf for them and they are still good? We had plenty of these things.

Now, we have a lot more space and only those things left that we really need. The only things we bought were two guitar holders and a large canvas of one of my photos. Everything else we already had somewhere (such as the lampshade and lamp or the four white ramekins that from the kitchen clean out the week before). Sunday we went for a walk with the kids and got some branches that sit in a vase and yesterday we put up the canvas that came in the mail. 

I'm still sitting here with a big grin, happy over the fact that we got it done. Looks so much nicer now, I have no idea why we didn't do it in the first place.

13. Less Mess & Stress: Getting Your Paperwork & Files Organized

Ugh. That was my otherwise free Monday morning. It was ugly. And I don't really want to talk about it. Still some things left to organize, but overall just surprised that something you do regularly can take so much longer if you decide to really do it, I mean, not just putting all the new papers on top of the old ones (which are neatly organized, mind you), but really go through ALL of it and decide if you really, really need to save it.

14. Worth It: Clear Up Cord Clutter

Busy workweek. Still had it from Monday. So. No. Didn't clean up any cord clutter whatsoever. Although, not true, stuck one visible extension cord back where it belongs. I did, however, remind my dearest that there are still cord-related things on his to do list... ahem. 

15. Declutter & Organize: Bathroom Cabinets Cleanout

That took half an hour while dinner was cooking and it was so good to get done. I should've taken a photo of what I tossed, some really amusing things in there. Heart-shaped hair clips, anyone? Elastics that no longer have any relation to their name anymore? Self-tanning body lotion from I-have-no-recollection-of-ever-buying-let-alone-using-that? Ahhh, that is the Cure at it's best. Quick decisions, easy disposal (hello, garbage bin) and instant gratification. Check!

Medicine? Well, that doesn't live in my bathroom, because really, medicine shouldn't live in bathrooms. There are two wall-mounted cabinets with locks for that, one for kids, one for adults with the contents sorted by illness. Yeah, could've sorted through that, too. But really, it was time for dinner and as I said, it doesn't live in my bathroom... ahem.

16. Lightening Up: Declutter Media Collections

Does tossing all those magazines and CDs over the weekend count here? 

17. Weekend Chores: Flowers, Outbox, Living Room & Lighting

With last weekend, we don't really have much left to do here. I already did add a table lamp, and while I would love to replace the floor lamp by my couch that makes me squint at magazines trying to decipher text, it's not in the budget right now and also will depend on the new couch I'll eventually get (been saying that for two years now.). So for now, it stays. Emptying the outbox is always my least favorite part, it seems to take forever and requires so may trips to drop off things, ugh. But this time I am really going to face it and get all things out of the house by  next week!

My favorite part is the energy the Cure sets free. I find myself constantly decluttering things and sorting as I go, no matter if they are assignments or not, on my list or not. And I am still hopeful that this year I can really sort through most parts of the house before Summer comes. 

So that was it for me - how has it been going for you? What's your most favorite part and what parts do you loathe?

AT's January Cure: The kitchen. And then some.

You know that feeling when you’re totally exhausted, but still glad? That was me Sunday night. I knew the kitchen cleaning and organizing task that is part of AT’s January Cure would be quite a bit of work, but I had no idea it was going to be this bad. I mean, I do believe that I have a fairly organized kitchen, after all, organizing drawers is something I’d do for fun (believe it or not), only to keep opening that drawer, smile at the nicely organized contents and close it again. Yes, that is something I like.

And yet, that kitchen task took me all weekend, and more. But let’s start with the beginning of the week.

Monday: get a fresh perspective

The theory is you sit in a spot for 10 minutes that you never sit in, and try to get a new perspective on a room. Ideally that makes you think of ways to improve the flow of a room or change that one thing that’s always been bugging you but you never really knew why.

I sat in the open door to my tiny entry, trying to figure out a way to make the flow of kids coming in with dirty shows, winter jackets, hat, scarves and school backpacks fit better into that little space. We had made some changes over the weekend as part of the floor cleaning task (LINK!!!), such as bringing in a stepstool leftover from the bathroom for little brother to sit on and take his shoes off. Still, that space feels cluttered and cramped. Well, actually it IS cluttered and cramped, because it’s just too small for four people and their stuff. I knew that when the floor plans of the house were being finalized, and yet I rather wanted some extra space in my kitchen and not in my entry.

We already keep extra coats, shoes and accessories tucked away in a nearby closet and have (labelled!) baskets for the kids’ hats and such, but still. But what I came up with is this:

-          that room really, really needs to be painted. And this time it’ll be painted white.

-          the coatrack holding the boys’ jackets needs to be hung higher – after all, we’ve lived here for close to five years and the kids have obviously grown a lot

-          I need to rethink the placement of that large mirror. I love it, but across from our coatrack it seems to visually double the coats. I will try to find another place for it and put a large-scale photograph in its place in an attempt to calm and widen the space

-          as already on my list (LINK!!!), I really need to find a new way to store those things like hairbrush and lipstick, preferably close to a smaller mirror

-          I need to remove as many things as possible from that room!

I also used my free morning on Monday to get a headstart on the kitchen and cleaned out the candy cabinet. I have absolutely no idea where all that stuff came from. It feels like I clean that out every month or so, and within no time at all it gets so cramped that the door will hardly close. This time, I had no mercy and threw a ton of stuff out, including all the cheap Halloween candy. I kept just as much as I can easily let my kids eat without having to worry, and I will have to have yet another serious talk with the grandparents about the sheer amount of sweets they bring. Two tiny bags with a kid-sized handful of gummybears are plenty, no need to buy the XXL bag for each boy. I mean, I found gummybears that were actually expired! And my kids love gummybears, but they can’t eat half a bag each day. Ugh. Such a waste.

Tuesday: Set up an outbox

That one was easy – put a large box into my storage closet. Done. Already added a few things to it. The weekend’s kitchen cleanout resulted in a separate outbox that we’ve put into the basement together with all the other things there that are waiting to be donated.

A lot of things that I purged also simply went into recycling or got dumped. Chipped bowls, expired foods and that gigantic surplus of chocolate.

Wednesday: Pick a project to cross off your list

Not quite sure about this one. I’d love to do some major living room re-arranging to make it less cramped and win back some wall space for floating shelves and ideally some large-scale art. But we’ll have to see how the month goes, and with half the family being sick last week, I called the living room project a bonus and focused on crossing a few of the kitchen things off my list while working on it over the weekend anyway.

Thursday: Prep artwork for framing and display

I was really lucky that my three workdays had light loads in terms of The Cure. For this one I decided to do it the other way around – not pick a piece of art to frame, but a frame that needs some new piece of art. Specifically the large ABC poster in the kids’ bathroom. It’s this lovely print by enna  and while I still think it’s beautiful, they simply have outgrown it. I still do love the dark wooden frame though, so last week I went through my photos from the last vacation at the beach and picked one. Actually took me until this week to finally get the measurements of the frame, decide whether I want the photo with or without a mat and order it. But it’s done and should be ready in time for hanging it as one of the next Cure assignments.

Friday – Sunday: Flowers, kitchen organizing and cleaning, make a meal

Nothing better to start your Friday than clean out the fridge and freezer, right? Well, at least the kids were at school so I could make a giant mess out of my kitchen, barely managing to clean it all up before I had to run out of the door to pick them up cleaning it all up, having a nice cup of tea and waiting for them at school. Ha. The upside was that little brother and I went for a nice and relaxed grocery shopping trip later that afternoon (and yes, if you usually deal with two kids arguing and racing their shopping carts around the aisles, taking just one of them shopping is actually nice and relaxed). He chose some red tulips for our weekly flowers, and we bought some chicken for making a citrusy grilled chicken Saturday.

I felt pretty good with the worst kitchen offenders already dealt with and flowers on my table. I should have known that if it takes me quite some time Monday to clean out one cabinet and all Friday morning to do the fridge, the rest of the kitchen wouldn’t exactly be a piece of cake either.

And let’s just say it wasn’t. By Saturday night I had at least dealt with all the food cabinets, plus those two drawers holding my baking pans, measuring cups and waffle irons (why, yes, I have two. One for waffles and one for ice cream cones. Not that I have ever made ice cream cones yet, mind you. Guess that is on my list for 2014, or else that thing will have a place reserved in next year’s outbox!) that had been driving me crazy for ages. But it was late, dinner was on the grill and the kids were tired.

Ah, right, that is why everything seemed to take even longer. Kids. Two of them. Having demands like wanting drinks, food and mommy to find that tiny little flashlight that belongs to one of those Playmobil figurines. Somehow I have a feeling this Cure thing would be easier if you could just keep working without interruptions, until late at night if you have to and then collapse onto the couch and order a pizza, oh, and sleep in the next morning. Well, no such luck. That reminded me why I don’t usually do weekend projects like this one and try to break tasks into chunks that I can finish off while they are at school and I am off work...

In the end we did get it done though, and although I am sure my men all think I am nuts and rolled their eyes here and there, they did let me work and even took the time to appropriately admire my work.

So this is what we ended up with for the outbox. I found a couple more things, such as a pair of fruit knives. Who on earth needs fruit knives?! I asked my mom when she came in, but she insisted that “people used to have them”. Right. And what for? “Well, for when you want to cut an apple of so”. Hmmm, when I want to cut an apple I use a real knife and cutting board, thank you very much. But what else is she going to say, she was the one who bought that stuff. I was going to add them to the outbox and took them out of their WMF package (yes, they were still in their original box, and made it through two moves. Go figure.) to see what they look like – turns out they look precisely like miniature versions of my regular WMF cutlery. So into the kids cutlery drawer they went, at least now they have knives sharp enough to cut their chicken themselves. Just another one of those why didn’t I think of that earlier moments.

Anyone else having these moments during The Cure? I find it has several effects:

-          these lightbulb moments where it finally dawns on you that an unbelievably simple solution for something that has been bugging you for ages is staring right in your face, and has been all along. You just didn’t see it.

-          you actually take those five minutes it really takes to clean up little messes instead of planning to add it to your to do list for five times before you actually do add it, and then postponing it another five times before you get around to it. So instead of wasting a lot of time and thought on “I have to remember to purge that battery drawer”, I took the box holding the batteries out yesterday, put all the dead ones into a recycling bag and organized the rest by battery, rechargeable and those teeny tiny special sizes. Then actually found and recharged three and put them into little brother’s flashlight, that has been sitting on my kitchen windowsill for ages, missing batteries. Amazing how simple things can be.

-          making plans. I can’t help it, even after making my master house list last week, I keep seeing things and adding to the list. I have a feeling, this Cure will take me longer than January... Much longer.

-          finally crossing off things you meant to do forever. Some of them never even made it on my list because I keep forgetting them. Am I the only one who finds that she forgot thing on her initial project list? Maybe I should have taken more time to write that one... Anyhow, funny thing is even though you have your plate full with assignments, you somehow manage to cross things off here and there, simply because it raises your awareness of the things that work and don’t work in your home. And I guess that is what The Cure really is about.

So we’ll see how this week goes, should be ok. Next week I am not so sure, it’s a busy one workwise and some of the assignments will take an hour or two (or more...). You know, paper clutter, bathroom cabinets and such.

This weekend’s assignment will be bedroom organization. Since I do my wardrobe twice a year anyway but usually more towards February or March when I can put the winter stuff away, there won’t be much to do. Maybe I’ll do a quick sock drawer makeover, but my overall plan is to try and get the living room changes underway. Since that involves quite some furniture moving as well as hanging the TV on the wall, I don’t really want to do that on my own.

What are your plans for the weekend? And what is your goal project for The Cure?

Happy organizing,

Swenja

AT's January Cure: Starting with a list

Every time AT starts one of their cures, I get excited. Like a fresh start, a clean beginning. I have to admit, last year's Kitchen Cure threw me off (I mean come on, take everything out of your kitchen cabinets, wipe down, sort and put back on say a regular Tuesday night after work and while the kids are waiting for dinner? Sorry, just not happening in my house), but I do love the concept of The Cure.

I did the January Cure last year, at least most of it. And the 20/20 cure the year before. Funny thing is, that even when you don't manage to complete every single assignment - it always gives you a new look at your surroundings. You start really seeing those piles of clutter. The little things you meant to fix - weeks ago. Months ago. The projects that didn't get done all the way. The things that sit somewhere because you don't really know where they belong and they've sat there so long that you start to not see them anymore.

The things you've been avoiding.

Day 1: And that was assignment one of the current January Cure: make a project list. Oh, and my list is long. (It also occurred to me that I need to update my home projects list on this blog. Oops.) Then focus on the few things you want to do for January. So, here we go:

Kitchen

• clear off and declutter the windowsill, where unidentified plastic kid objects go to collect dust and ultimately die. Also, make pesto to use up that less than good looking basil and replace it with some rosemary. 
• clear off counters as much as possible and try to find new homes in cabinets for some of the things
• declutter oils and vinegars
• use up excess food from the holidays
• clean garbage drawer under the sink

Living room

• get rid of TV unit and one of the cubby units. Turn the other two cubby units on their sides (they're similar to the Expedit), hang TV above one of them
• rethink frames currently on the walls and make plans for new art
• declutter kids craft materials 
• declutter kids games and sell the ones we no longer use

Office

• Sort through bin with recycling stuff I keep for the kids to craft with
• Go through and file papers (ugh)
• Declutter fabric, find new home for fabric scraps

Kids room

• start looking for new art for little brother's room
• sort through toys and sell baby toys (mostly done over the holidays)
• hang the guitar shelf that little brother and daddy made for big brother for Christmas
• get big brother his own craft supplies, now that he and I sorted through every single drawer in his desk

Kids bath

• start looking for new art replacing the babyish ABC poster, keeping the lovely frame

Entry

• find a new wreath for our door
• paint!
• wash the rugs
• finally get those mysterious stains off the tiles that have been there forever
• declutter shelves
• start looking for new art
• source better way to keep brush, lipstick, kids detangled and other quick-out-the-door essentials nearby but not in plain sight (needs to be wall-mounted)
• install new hooks for keys

Day 2. So this is where we're at for the weekend assignment:

Buy Flowers: did that while shopping on Friday. Got paperwhites again, and finally put my three tiny helleborus plants back outside today, nestled in a planter by the front door. 

Vacuum the rugs and clean ALL the floors: Two kids, two cats = I vacuum every day, at least downstairs. The floors in this house are dust bunny and crumb magnets. As for the mop, well, thanks to a very lovely migraine, this still didn't get done today and will have to wait until Sunday. No better day to mop all your floors than Sunday, right? At least I washed the bath mats already. 

Stock up on good green cleaners: We use mostly green cleaners, but not all. I haven't found a floor cleaner that does not leave streaks other than the one I use, and that is not green. But what has made a  difference to me is generally decluttering my cleaning products and just using some basics, most of them green, instead of all sorts of harsh and specialized cleaners. I did, however, use this as an excuse to browse the cleaner isle in the local drugstore for ten minutes and getting a new, green, lavender cleaner to use on the kitchen, kids bathroom etc. We'll see.

Anyone else doing the January Cure? 

Making clouds

I've made a couple of clouds recently. Mostly soft, fluffy ones. Who doesn't like puffy little clouds? See, that's what I figured, too. So I made them, again and again, as gifts for some dear friends. No two clouds I made are alike, and that is not just due to the fact that I just cannot follow a pattern.

It all started out with the cloud mobile I made for my friend's third child. You might also remember the cloud pillow I made for her for Christmas. Well, it sort of took off from there. I made some more cloud pillows, gave them little sleepy eyes and a grin.

Then it went on to cloud teabags, cards and more pillows.

For a while I haven't been making much. There has been so much summer fun, work and plain daily life going on, that making things got pushed to the bottom of my list. You know, in to those parts of the list that you never really get around to, despite all the good intentions. And then my kids left for a vacation with their grandparents. Oh, bliss.

I still have to work and there are many things on my list, such as the new garden and preparations for big brother's party. But I decided that some of those things would have to wait, and that I was going to spend this kid-free time mostly with things I never get around to while the kids are here.

Such as sleeping. Taking naps in the middle of the day. Reading the paper and drinking a third cup of coffee on Sunday morning. Eating take-out Chinese food in front of the TV on a Monday night after an 11-hour shift at work. Going for a quick swim in the pool when I'd usually clean up the house and put the kids to bed. Grilling pizza and eating it on the patio at 9pm instead of 6pm. Ahhh...

And making things. Leaving the mess of sewing supplies out, not having to worry about putting away needles and scissors.

So I made another cloud mobile, for some dear friends expecting baby No. 2. I think it's always kind of hard to find a good gift for the second child. You have all the basics, have gotten rid of most of the excess stuff and the few things you could use new you actually like buying yourself, because now you finally know what to look for. But in this case, they have recently moved to a house, coming from a small apartment. That might leave room for some additional stuff for baby's room, no? Also, I am just so glad they decided to go for a second child. You see, they went through quite some sorrow and hard times with their wonderful daughter, and I think it's so great that they have the strength and courage to have another one.

I'm a firm believer in gifts for the big siblings when there is a new baby. Just ask my coworkers, both first-time mommies, about that email exchange recently where I was a little, uh, determined to get my point across about gifts for the older sibling being a necessity. But especially for the second baby and with little ones I do feel that while baby usually has everything he or she is going to need, the older child is so easily left out from all the gifts and congrats over the new arrival.

So anyway. Before I launch into a tirade here, let's just say I made an owl cloud pillow for the soon-to-be big sister. Or is it a cloud owl? Not even sure this makes sense at all. But I there wasn't enough white fleece left over, and the owls were so cute so an owl cloud pillow it was.

Turns out you can also cut two of the owls out, sew them together right sides facing, turn them right side out, stuff them a bit and sew them closed with some twine for legs. They also hang from puffy white clouds nicely.

Well, either making clouds in addictive or I am just not a very creative person. But I made another one. For another good friend, who is pregnant with her first baby. This little cloud pillow was made with soft fleece and fabric by Cloud 9. Seriously. I have been in love with their fabric since I started sewing last year, and I've been saving this fabric for a special project. And a birthday gift to a soon-to-be mommy is special, don't you think? And it could just be my favorite cloud so far. I almost want to keep it. Actually, I really do. It looks right at home on my couch.



Maybe if the kids stay a little longer I will make the time to sew one for myself.

Meanwhile, I'll go spend some time staring at the real thing and doing nothing at all.

Happy Sunday!
Swenja

Life lately

Four months? Really? You have to be kidding me. Where did those four month go? Or the last seven, for that matter. When did it get to be July already?

Seems like I am missing a few things lately. My annual family photo books? Not even started. And it is, well, July. And it's not just doing the books, it's also the material. Sometimes weeks pass before I pick up my camera again. This blog? Oh, please.

Something's gotta give.

With my not-so-new anymore job (that was last October), more and more things just drop of the list. Get postponed and then just sort of lost. Why is it so hard to start something again once you have stopped, for whatever reason? And why is it all the fun things get dropped?

Don't get me wrong, I love that job, I really do. There are weeks when it's absolutely completely insane, but I still love it. It's just that all the other things need attention, too. You know, things like grocery shopping, errands, laundry and oh, cleaning the house. Taxes, filing papers, paying bills. And my brain happens to shut itself off at 8pm latest. Can't process a single thought anymore. Trust me, I've tried. 

I've been thinking about this lately though. (before 8pm, obviously)

Apparently I need my fun back.

That means that something else will have to give. Some things I simply won't do. Some things my boys will have to help. Cleaning is a family activity now, and that is a good thing because it goes much faster if I don't have to do it all by myself. Not sure my boys agree to that yet, but hey...

So anyway, looking through my (not even sifted through and edited, yikes!) photos, this is a little glimpse into what we've been up to lately:

Little brother learned to ride his bike. After starting his training bike last year and being familiar with the pedals from riding his go-cart, I thought he'd be at this much sooner. But he simply wouldn't let go. It was plain to see he could easily do it, but he just didn't trust it. I really do hope he doesn't come after his mommy in that respect! Geez. Once he got the hang of it though, he was determined to also set off on his own, not needing to give him that initial push. Didn't take him long - something big brother had taken much longer to learn once he rode his bike. Go figure!

Summertime! After a long winter the garden seemed to take forever to grown and bloom. Once it did though, it really did.

Planting seeds for a school project - and then planting some more because little brother wanted them, too. "It's not fair, mommy!" Right. That's they're most favorite complaint lately: "Not fair!" Guess they're gonna have to get used to some of it...

We planted cucumber, radishes and pumpkin. And sunflowers, but they refused to grow. Oh well.

Early summer tradition: Making elderflower syrup. After last year's batches were gone far too soon, we made some more this year. Maybe some of it will last long enough to be a Christmas present? Summer's scent in the middle of winter. Like strawberry jam. Elderflower and strawberry is almost the same season, and it's way too short. 

Water battles with daddy - a favorite pastime when it gets really hot. 

Taking a break and having some iced coffee. Recently decided I love iced coffee. Nothing fancy, just a hot brewed fresh shot of espresso over half a glass of ice cubes, some simple syrup and milk. Not only does it taste good - sometimes it's the only way to get through the afternoon without falling asleep mid-sentence!

Someone getting new glasses! Of course they had to be green. We agreed on a pair that is black outside and the brightest green possible on the inside. Fine with me.

Big brother also had his first guitar concert. Well, a tiny little one, playing two songs in front of a handful of people, but still. He was nervous, but he did a great job.

Sneak peek at our latest project. That wildflower field you see there? That is our new backyard-in-progress. This is the before shot, and quite some things have been done since. Of course even more remain... oh well.

So there you go, a brief update of sorts. Yeah I know. Lots of pictutes. What? You thought I wouldn't post for four months and then let you get away with three or four photos? Nah. After all, who knows when I'll get around to this again... Kidding. Hopefully.

So hey, it's nice to be back.

Talk to you soon!
Swenja

Kids' room update: a desk for big brother & a kids' library

Sometimes, home projects just come together easily. You start with an idea and things just seem to fall into place from there. We recently did some re-arranging in the brother's rooms, reason being that big brother starts school in two weeks.

Wait, did I just say two weeks?

Yikes.

(Note to self: get organized for school. Urgent!)

Where was I?

Right. We needed a desk for big brother's room. Yes, I know, everyone keeps telling me they're going to end up doing their homework on the kitchen table anyway. That is fine with me, but I can't have all school material, papers, books and such on the kitchen table all the time. That would simply drive me insane. So, he needed a place to put things.

And perhaps a place to do homework should little brother start to bother him at the kitchen table. Not that the most charming 3-year-old ever would do that. Ha.

I knew we wouldn't have much space available, so the little pretend shop they have had to move to little brother's room, who is the one mostly playing with it these days anyway. Here's a before shot of that corner of the room:

So far, so good. But the part I kept struggling with was the desk itself. These days everything has to be ergonomic and adjustable in height and such. Might be a good idea, but... I just happen to dislike most of these desks. And the ones I do like are crazy expensive. Besides, I also refuse to buy a swivel chair. I don't even want to picture what little brother would do with that. Nope, no swivel chairs and adjustable desks for me.

One day I happened to look at the two Stokke chairs we have. Then it hit me. Of course! Who needs an adjustable desk when you can adjust the chair? And the best part: it doesn't swivel. No wheels. Perfect.

From there it just came together perfectly.

We ended up getting one Alex drawer unit and two legs as a base for the table. The drawers should provide plenty of storage for school supplies, at least for the next few years.  For the tabletop, I didn't want one of those white ones, or more precisely, I didn't want to be wiping off pencil marks every day. Because I know that they'd drive me crazy.

For my office I have a large white countertop as desktop, which is really easy to care for. But still white. Instead, we went with a solid wooden kitchen countertop for desk, and it just so happened that the smallest width sold fit perfectly without having to be trimmed. We have wooden countertops in the kitchen, and they are pretty indestructible. Perfect for big brother!

We hung two Ribba picture ledges over the desk for display and also to alleviate some of the differences in height between the desk and the dresser next to it. Now I have to resist the urge to go and put these ledges everywhere in my house, I love them so much. Even the smallest things look like treasures displayed here.

It took me well over a month to find a chair on eBay. Buying a new one was not in the budget, but we ended up really lucky with a blue one for 35 EUR - yes, it has lots of scratches, but I am sure it'll get a few more soon.

We set the rooms up when the kids were away with their grandparents for a week (a week!!! Oh, bliss...). Big brother was so so so excited to come back to his new room. He's been sitting down at his new desk, practicing letters every day.

Since we were moving things around anyway, we also ended up getting a library for the brothers. I keep losing track of who has which book and where it belongs, so we took all the books out of their rooms, except for the stash they have next to their beds. All others go into the hall between their rooms.

I've actually stolen the idea from one of my favorite bloggers, go see her schoolroom here.

Holding all the books are two narrow Stuva frames that are hung directly on the wall (no legs required, which makes cleaning in the narrow hall much easier).

On the wall so far are Laura Knight's International Phonetic Alphabet and an old alphabet poster from my husband's elementary school that my mother in law had bought a while ago. There is still some space left in between and I can't wait to add some more prints.

Now I only need to get organized for the first day of school!

Any advice?

Swenja

April home projects update

"Update home projects page" has been one of those items that just keeps being overdue on my to do list, and since I use an app, it's also turned this nasty red color. Ugh. Things are busy right here and with a lot of things going on, I decided to spend two hours this morning trying to clear up some items from my list.

So I updated the projects list - until it hit me that I never even posted an April update. Ooops. Not that there's much to show for that month, because really, where exactly did April go? It was Easter and then some and all of a sudden it's mid May. May?? You've got to be kidding me. It's can't be May yet. But it is, and so I'm trying my best to play catch-up:



"Get the garden in shape! Especially one flower bed that contains a grass that blooms in June."
That one was fairly high on my list, mainly because I get one shot at it, and that is spring. I have so many bulbs in that flower bed and I can't possibly remember where, so any major planting has to be done in spring when the dandelions are out. Lucky for me, that was late this year. I finally managed to make a list of plants to fill in for that ugly grass, because really, who needs a grass turned yellow in July? Save that for September, but in July I still want nice, green and pretty plants. Sorry little grass if I'm being a little harsh here, but that's the way it is. I tried it, I really did, but come June and then July I get frustrated with all that fall feeling taking over my flower bed. So I got some more of my favorite plants, the ones that do well in other parts of the garden as well. Like miscanthus sinensis or my all-time favorite gaura lindheimeri. Love those. How can you not love a plant that keeps blooming from June to October?

So this here is the offending grass. Don't be fooled by it being all nice and green. It'll turn ugly and yellow in the middle of summer, I swear.

Of course by the time the plants arrived it had turned rainy and ugly again, but oh well. And of course it was after I had placed my order that I discovered some of my favorite plants hadn't made it through the winter, due to that nasty and really cold period in February. Sigh.

Here's the said flower bed, looking a little sad right after planting because obviously the new plants are still small and the dandelions are wilting. But you can tell that I took a bunch of the grass out.

"Remove Cortaderia selloana. It's just not working. Plant miscanthus instead." Did that one at the same time. Feels sooooo much better and I can't wait for the new grass to get bigger. I didn't even have to feel guilty about this, because both of my cortaderia plants did not make it through the winter.

"Kids's Bath: Reframe prints. I copied pages of a favorite book for art but framed them in red frames that while I'm sure are nice elsewhere in the house, just don't go with the room here."
I came across these really cute prints so adding those in the existing frames might just as well work for now. 


"Hallway: Hang art. Preferably something uplifting and calming as this is where we try to get the kids out the door in time each morning... "
I never did take a picture of it, but I used this one here:

"Hallway: Maybe get a new rug. Not sure I'll get the old one clean after all that yellow sand from paving. Yuck."

Never did get it clean. So we got a new one. The brothers are delighted since it features a cat. I think it's a little bit too crazy and silly for me, but hey, it's cheerful and it really warms up the hallway. 

"Outside: Clean and refill sandbox and re-cover surrounding area with new mulch." Did that. Lots of it, and also lots of new sand. Which ends up everywhere. Sigh. Maybe I need to be decluttering sandbox toys, because the way they have them all over the sandbox within a nanosecond of being outside, they can't even sit in there anymore. But at least now there is some new sand under all those toys...


So here we go, finally the April update. Not sure I'll get much done in May, but maybe some more outdoor things and also the hubby has been painting away outside. We're getting there. One project at a time. Which is why I love this list - it really does make me look at all the things we got done. Now if I only managed to update it more frequently...


What's been on your list lately? What's been on it forever? And what felt really great to cross off?

Can't wait to hear.
Swenja

March home projects update

March was not my most productive month when you look at getting home projects done. Starting the month off with little brother’s birthday party and a changed work schedule, that didn’t leave too much energy for organization projects. Then came the gorgeous weather and we went out every day practicing with little brother’s training bike. Anyhow. Here’s what I did get done.

Find a space for remaining craft supplies like those recycling items I keep for crafting. I got one of those metal Ikea buckets with a lid which fits quite a few items. Still not all of them though. Sigh.

I actually ended up using some of the recycling stuff for storing my stamps. These plastic trays usually hold those tiny tomatoes. Now they're home to old and new stamps.

Get a cork board as photography backdrop. My sweet husband did that one for me. One side is painted white, and the other he painted black using chalkboard paint. It’s fairly small so it stores easily when not in use but it’s great as an impromptu backdrop. Hopefully that should mean fewer photos with that green wallpaper in the back… we’ll see.

Get some more cork to make a pinboard. Well, this didn’t get done because I simply decided we won’t need it. Too many things around that little desk anyway. But I did cross it off the list.

Organize kid’s art and craft projects. Well, I wish I had really done that, but at least I do have a plan and a much better system now. I’m using a small drawer in my kitchen as a temporary storage space for them and try to remember to take photos of the boys with their artwork when they bring it home. It then goes upstairs to my office where I scan the rest and put the ones I want to keep in a simple folder. Now, the real work will be making a photo book of all their art, one for each kid. And I haven’t even started yet. Yikes.

Do a pantry challenge and clear some of the built-up groceries from the holidays. We did that here and there, trying to use up the stuff in the pantry (which is a kitchen cabinet btw) before buying something new. It’s not all done but significantly reduced. Now I need to do the same for my baking supplies...

Outside of the house. With the warm weather we’ve been spending time on this one, obviously. Most items are still work in progress, but we did clean up the sandbox and got some new mulch for the surrounding area. And ordering new plants is way up there on my to do list. For a week now actually, but let’s just not talk about that.