Skip to main content

For the Love of Home

My house is a mess. Not just run of the mill, I have kids messy, but real deal, it would take some serious hours of deep cleaning to tackle this mess, mess.

With little energy and time being at a premium, I tackled the most visible thing that I can handle right now that is driving me crazy.

The girls do most of their crafting, sewing, homework, you name it, at our dining room table. I am constantly nagging at them to put away their project for meal time and yet inevitably I end up scooping it all up and dropping it on the fireplace mantle next to the table. This has led to a fireplace that was overflowing with piles of discarded projects.

I began looking for a free standing piece of furniture to put in the dining room, something multifunctional to hold all of our puzzles, crayons, papers, crafts, board games, etc. I thought perhaps a buffet with lots of storage or a hutch would do the trick. Right away I found the perfect piece, but at $425 I wasn't prepared to invest that kind of money yet.

Yesterday I was searching the internet for inspiration, and I got to thinking about how I could utilize the furniture I already had for the purpose that I needed. A little bit of brainstorming later and I had a solution.

I emptied all of the DVD's from the TV stand and put them into the empty coffee table in the toy room. I then sorted through the junk on the mantle of the fireplace that had been accumulating since Christmas. I pitched the junk, scraps of paper, broken crayons, old receipts and kept what little was left.

Then I had to wait till my husband came home to help with the heavy lifting. We moved the (portable electric) fireplace from the dining room and swapped it for the tv stand in the living room. With such a small shift, I was able to empty the piano bench that was holding all the puzzles and take the stack of music that was on top of the piano and put it in the bench where it belonged! Crazy, I know.

The crafting supplies, markers, coloring books and legos that had been stacked precariously on the fireplace went inside the TV stand where all the DVD's used to be.

Later today, when I find the energy, the board games that have been taking up precious space in my utility closet will get moved to the TV stand turned dining room storage as well.

It was really just a matter of perspective. The Nester is always talking about shopping your own home, and I get a little frustrated sometimes, because I feel like I don't have much to shop from in my home. But last night I proved myself wrong. One simple swap of furniture and all of the sudden both rooms are more functional.

Here are some links from around the web that inspire me to keep plucking away, even during this exhausting time.









Here's to the weekend, and hoping you find yourself comfortable in your own home. That you feel happy, settled, and rested. Happy Saturday friends! 








Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Changes

I was cleaning today, which gave me time to think, and thinking always leads me here. The house is 'weekend messy', so decided to clean my floors, because The Nester says if your floors are clean the rest of the house feels clean too, even if it isn’t.  I have found that it is pretty good advice, so when everything else feels chaotic, I clean the floors. Of course for me, cleaning the floors also means picking up the toys, shoes, clothes, etc. so that I can even begin to vacuum, which naturally leads to a cleaner home as well.  While cleaning up I began to think about how this blog has evolved over the years, from a desire to write like The Nester about home, into what it is now.  I started writing this blog when I was dreaming of building a new home. Then plans changed, life took turns, and we ended up in a home so different than I expected and so perfect for our family. Somewhere along the way I realized that home wasn’t in the walls that went up or in the co

From My Christmas Wish List to Yours!

One of my favorite stores, West Elm, has now opened a special section called The Market. It specializes in kitchen, garden and personal care. Lets just say I am in love. If I had unlimited resources to spend in one store to do a total overhaul on my house, it would be West Elm, and now with the new Market, I am in lust too. So here are a few of my favorites. Check it out and maybe you'll get some great Christmas ideas for someone on your list. Or maybe my hubby will see this and get a great idea for me! Hint, hint! Enjoy! Incredibly large, amazing cutting board . I've seen these boards doubling as art hanging on the wall, then they take up no storage space! Cast iron Dutch oven . Great for one-pot meals. These glass jars come in varying sizes. I'm thinking they would work well for brown sugar with that rubber seal. I would definitely get plenty of use out of a cheese knife set during the holidays and all year round. Copper measuring spoons . Seriously? Fantastic

Happy Fall- Time to Slow Down

I've been busy following several blogs. They have such beautiful homes and are great inspirations. Sometimes I get carried away thinking that blog homes and magazine homes look that perfect every minute of every day. It's hard to remember that often the photos shown are there for inspiration and are only slices of a moment caught on camera. Pictures do not necessarily tell the story of true everyday life. Rachel Martin's blog, Finding Joy ,has got me thinking about taking the time to look for the spaces in my home that make me happy and inspire me. I need to focus on those places more, and less on the toys all over the living room floor or the messes on the counter that need to be put away. Instead of getting so wrapped up in what is unfinished, I need to focus on what is finished. This is the sign I just put up for Fall, it makes me smile to see it every time I come home!   This Scarecrow came from Lakeside Collections and the pumpkin from Walmart. The chair was my