Bee Focused

Transformers

2011-07-25T13:19:00.000-04:00

Not the new hit movie, have you seen it by the way? I really enjoyed this movie, more than any of the other ones. I think this was because part 1 and 2 had way to many lovey-dovey scenes, definitely not what I remember about the Transformers of my era. Which movie was your favorite?

I've got lots of transformations to share with you this week, between working on projects, selling stuff on ebay, work, and home I have been a busy little bee.

Come back this week to see how we transformed our Master bathroom which looked like this

Into something that resembles this space

For less than $75.00

West Elm Cork Canister Knock Offs

2011-07-06T14:22:00.001-04:00

Have you seen these cork canisters from West Elm? They range from $14 -$24 each, way to much for this frugalista.

Luckily for me, I scored a look alike last year before they even graced the pages of West Elm. I found these beauties for $8 (for the set) at the same thrift/antique store I scored my tobacco basket. I was thrilled with them at the time, but after I saw the West Elm versions, I was even more excited.

I even like my version better because they are much wider and will hold a lot more.

I won some super cute vinyl labels from Ginger Snaps a few weeks ago, and they are the perfect accent for the canisters. I used my blue chalkboard marker and…….

They look great in my disorganized spice/medicine cabinet.

Have you every found an item and months or years later see it in a catalog?

DIY Mirror for only $1.00

2011-06-26T22:43:00.001-04:00

Since Joi showed her gorgeous wall display using ceiling medallions I have been on the look out for them every where I go. So imagine my excitement when I purchased two of them at a yard sale for only $1.00, yeah I did a little happy dance.

My initial thought was to copy Joi and create a entire wall of various medallions, but considering it has taken me a longggg time to find two inexpensive ones, I opted for something a little different.

Can you tell what I did? Yep, I glued the smaller medallion to the larger one and added a mirror, so so simple.

Since I was really trying to be ~~cheap~~ frugal with this project. I used a old tray mirror from when I use to sell Mary Kay instead of spending a few bucks at the craft store on a “real” mirror. I just hot glued it to the back of the large medallion.

Hot glued the two pieces together, and there you go a $1.00 mirror for my Master Bedroom.

It looks perfect hanging above the bed, now I just need to DIY a headboard of some sort.

My Master bedroom has come a long way, and I’m hoping to tackle a few more projects in this space real soon.

Organizing my Ebay Business

2011-06-22T20:05:00.001-04:00

Since I have had such great results selling discounted clothes from yard sales and Goodwill on Ebay, I have decided to keep it up a little while longer. Which means that I needed to find somewhere to put all the great items I find. Being that our storage space is scarce, I needed to make the most of the space I do have. When I cleaned out the Master Closet at the beginning of the year I was actually left with some empty shelving so this became the perfect place for my little eBay hussle.

The three top bins are for items that I need to list, that have sold and that need to be shipped (yep, I need to label that last bin, oops)

The large paisley bag from Thirty One is where I put all the items that have been listed. You wouldn’t believe how much stuff this bag holds, its great.

My shipping station is the small organizing bag, also from Thirty One. I put all the supplies I need for my eBay business in this tote so everything is in one place. It holds my shipping envelopes, packaging tape, scissors, tissue paper, and measuring tape.

I was a little worried that the scissors would make a hole in the mesh on the side so I put them in a aluminum can which fits perfectly. I should add some pretty paper on this can, huh.

In the few short months I’ve been selling on eBay I’ve learned a few things

Starting the sale on Sunday results in more bids, I guess this is because more people have time to spend shopping over the weekend.
If it doesn't sell the first time Relist at least four times before you give up on a sale.
Take good pictures that capture the true color and texture of the item.
Include the measurements in the listing.
and most importantly ship on time and be honest about the condition of the item you want to receive good feedback.

If you are interested in looking at the items for sale take a look here.

Phase 1 Closet Makeover

2011-06-16T21:24:00.000-04:00

This closet has been a thorne in my side for a long time. Because its the only closet not in a bedroom it had become a catchall for everything from our winter coats to board games, the closet was not functional at all. During a recent trip to Goodwill I found a small white bookshelf, that I thought would be perfect to hold all of our games, puzzles, and card games.

I removed all of the coats and relocated them in the Master closet. I organized the games on the bookshelf according to size, and it looks soooo much better. No longer are the games stuffed in the basket with pieces falling out.

I know its nothing fancy, but it looks so much better, see look for yourself.

Isn't it amazing how much can fit on one small bookshelf. Most everything stayed with the exception of 2 games little man no longer needed.

This is just phase one, I would like to paint the inside of the closet, move the wire shelf higher to allow for more room to hang coats, and add some labels.

What would you do with this closet space?

Favorite Yard Sale Finds

2011-06-15T14:34:00.001-04:00

I love, love, love going to yard sales and would go every Saturday if it was possible. Nester is having a linky party where we can showcase our favorite yard sale finds.

I already showed you my antique GE fan, but it has to be my favorite find ever and at only $5.00 I had to feature it. The same day I found the fan I scored a beautiful rustic tobacco basket from the thrift store.

Next up are outdoor items that I have collected over the years from several different sales.

The entire wicker set was only $15.00, originally white I spray painted it black, please don’t look closely because it needs a new coat of paint. The black and green planters were $1.00 each and I filled them with discounted flowers from Lowes. I scored the blue tray for 50cents and the lantern was $3.00. Even the rug was found at a yard sale for 5.00.

Do you yard sale shop? Have a favorite find you would like to share, go visit the Nester and link up.

My Thrifty Adventures

2011-06-14T22:35:00.001-04:00

Growing up in the south, I can remember my grandparents talking about working in the “baccer” field and how much hard work it was. My mom and her cousins worked in their grandparents field every summer priming tobacco. Although it was grueling and backbreaking work, my mom said she learned a lot in those fields about hard work, determination, and faith. Mom says that grandma told stories in the field and made sure they all knew where they came from. I am so thankful for the teachings that grandma gave my mom, because she passed them down to me. I’ve always wanted a piece of this history in my home, but I wanted it to also fit with my decor. I decided that a huge tobacco basket would be just the right statement piece to have in our home and have been looking for one for the past year and I found the perfect one over the weekend at an excellent price of only $25. Tobacco baskets are super hard to come by especially when they are intact and in relative good condition. Most baskets I have seen on ebay are at least $50 and about the same to ship.

I haven't decided where it will land, but my options are in the Master Bedroom over the bed, in the Living Room over the couch, or in the front room that has no purpose at the moment. Where would this basket land in your home?

To give you an idea of where people are using tobacco baskets in their home, I wanted to share these pictures with you.

Amanda Carver Designs

I’m so glad I was able to find this meaningful piece for such a great price. The little shop I went to even had three more in good condition, I started to buy them all and sell on Ebay, but thought it would be to much of a hassle.

My second find of the day doesn't have the familial significance as the tobacco basket, but I love to mix in the old with the new, and this antique fan is perfect. Its in great condition other than the 6 layers of dirt that has accumulated. More than likely this fantastic fan will take residence in the Master Bedroom. Want to know how much I paid?

5 dollars, can you believe it? The thrifty fairy must be on my side these days!!!

I did a Google image search for antique fans and guess what, Katie has one in her bedroom, how ironic is it to find the exact antique fan.

Have you found any thrifty items lately? I’d love to see what's landed in your home.

Chores, we all gotta do um

2011-06-13T21:51:00.002-04:00

Recently I found an old copy of a Parents magazine with a great idea for a chore chart and printed off the chore cards here. You’ll notice that I cut off the day of the week, because I wanted my version to be a little more flexible.
These chores will be done on a daily basis.

and I will add in one or two other choices at my discretion maybe one of these.

My favorite card is this one

Since I laminated all the cards not only are they more durable, I can write chores on the mom’s choice card with a dry erase marker and change it as needed.
I put them on a key ring and I have a easy way for little man to help with the chores.

Linking up to

DebbieDoos Newbie Party

You Can Accomplish A Lot in 60 Minutes

2011-06-12T23:20:00.001-04:00

I don't know about you, but having a tidy home consistently is harddddd work. Don’t get me wrong, our home isn’t dirty by any means, but our house feels like its in a state of disorganization. Even though we don't get a lot of unexpected visitors, I would love for our home to be presentable in the event someone comes by unannounced. Furthermore it would be nice not to have to clean like a crazy lady when I have people over. Typically my cleaning is done on Saturday and sometimes Sunday, so I never feel like I have a weekend.

I decided to give myself a little challenge last week and see how much cleaning, picking up, and putting away I could accomplish in 1 hour of focused work.

In 60 minutes I was able to change the linen on little mans bed, clean his bathroom, start a load of clothes, fold and put away 3 loads of clothes that had taken residence on the guest room bed, vacuum the Master Bedroom, Little Mans Room, and the Guest ~~Junk~~ Room.

I’m tired just thinking about it, but I was so focused on seeing how much I could get done that it was actually kinda fun.

My little man loves to sleep with all of these animals, I actually have to tuck them in too at night.

Yes, this is in the guest room, the before is horrible

The after is much better, but still not exactly “good” , I’m waiting for these baby items to sell on Craigslist, hopefully soon. Maybe one day I will transform this room into something more guest appropriate.

All that vacuuming wouldn't have been possible without my favorite cleaning tool, Mr... Dyson.

It really sucks, see what I mean

I don't think I will ever go back to another vacuum, me and Mr... Dyson are friends for life.

Have you ever gave yourself a cleaning challenge?

Blog Organization

2011-06-07T22:59:00.003-04:00

Blogging is simply a hobby for me, something that I like to do and provides a way for me to connect with other creative people. Even still I want to produce good blog content that inspires others and contributes to the blog community. I have no idea where blogging will take me in the future, but either way I realize that every good blogger must be organized.
Enter the blog notebook, most of you seasoned bloggers probably already have one and if not I’m sure you have a system in place to keep your blog running smoothly. I purchased this binder over a month ago from Target, initially to use for a home management binder but that hasn’t happened yet.

I decided to keep things simple and use just a few categories.

Calendar
Ideas
Brainstorming
Inspiration
To Do

One thing that I have realized since blogging is that scheduling post ahead of time reduces the stress of sitting down each day to come up with something to write. Not only is this method inefficient, it also (for me) produced blog content that was mediocre and definitely not my best. When I look back over my post that had the most comments or views, they were the ones that I spent more time on because they were planned ahead of time. I found this really great monthly blog calendar from Blogging BookShelf that is perfect for me.
Not only does this calendar have space for you to schedule your post, it also includes a space for weekly and monthly goals. Look closely and you will see my goal for June is to reach 100 or more followers. If you aren’t already following me, I would love for you to help me reach this goal. There is also a place on the calendar for you to write notes or ideas.

Coming up with ideas for my blog and be a challenge sometimes, especially when I haven’t completed a craft or home project. I don’t know about you but sometimes I will get an Ah-ha moment and have an idea for a great post and then forget what my thought was. Does this happen to you, too? Hopefully this list section will help solve this problem, write it down and you wont forget.
Recently I finished the 31 days to a better blog challenge and one of my favorite pieces of advice was to use a “mind map" to flush out ideas. Basically the idea is to take one of your old post (it could also be a new idea) and brainstorm ways to expand on the idea, kinda like this one for my recent curb appeal post.

The final category in my blog binder is dedicated to things I need “to do”. Because my blog features my own home projects, a lot of my to do’s are projects I need to finish in order to blog about it.
One way that I hope to reach my goal of 100 followers this month is to utilize linky parties efficiently. In the past I have linked to a party one week and forgot about it the next week. Hopefully this wont happen with this blog link list I created in excel.

I have all the linky parties categorized by the day of the week that the party happens. So that I make sure not to link the same project more than once at a party I type the title of the post in the appropriate date column. I decided not to include a paper copy of this in my binder because using an electronic copy allows me to simply click on the hyperlink to go directly to the party instead of typing the address in the web browser. As linky parties are cancelled or I find new ones they can easily be added to the spreadsheet.
If you have any questions about any part of my blog organization I’d love to answer them for you.

Linnking Up at these great parties! Bee Sure to stop by and see all the creativeness out there!

Handy Man, Crafty Woman

Handy Man, Crafty Woman

Saturday Mornings

Ginger Snaps

I heart Before and After Pictures

2011-06-03T10:39:00.000-04:00

One of my favorite things about blogging are before and after pictures. I just love to see how something that needed improvement can be transformed into something amazing or at least better. So I was thinking about my own before and afters and thought I would highlight a few of them.

Kitchen Gallery Wall

(read more about this transformation here)

Kitchen Cabinets
(read more about this here, here, and here)

Master Bedroom

(read more about this project here)

Which before and after is your favorite?

Curb Appeal

2011-06-01T22:10:00.005-04:00

Curb appeal is an important aspect of making your home more appealing. A lot of times we are so caught up on making the inside of our home look better, that we neglect the outside like I did with my front porch.

After taking an hour to clean off the front porch and plant some new flowers I was feeling pretty good about my curb appeal, my flower beds are starting to fill in and handy hubby even trimmed the overpowering Bradford Pear tree. I guess he was feeling pretty good about his handy skills so he decided to add brick pavers around Bradford.

I LOVE it!!!! The pavers and new flowers really make the yard look so much bigger and brighter. Dont tell my neighbors, but I think we have the prettiest yard on our street.

My new flowers are doing wonderful, but the beautiful dianthus I showed you before turned brown and looked a hot mess. I spent some time deadheading and they are starting to produce some new blooms. I started watering them with Miracle Grow hoping that this will make them grow thicker and faster.

The bright purple petunias in my hanging baskets are my favorite and they smell wonderful.

I also added these planters to the mix.

Hubby needs to do a good bit of edging and the curb appeal will be complete, well except in the back yard which is an embarassing mess in part to this little guys newest toy which created a nice large mud hole.

Pretty much the only thing the backyard has going for it, is hubby's box garden full of tomato, cucumber, squash, peas, and cantaloupe. Yes it looks a little crowded, Hubby needs to stake the tomato plants and do a bit of edging, nevertheless we already see yellow blooms on the tomato plants. I'll keep you posted on the progress.

It does look better in person, I promise!

By the way I didnt pay full price for hardly any of these plants, I waited for them to go on clearance at Lowes, saving at least 50% on each plant.

Anything Goes Party at Type A

Get It Sold

2011-05-31T22:37:00.001-04:00

I shared with you last week some top tips to get your house sold even in this down economy. Looking only at the outward appearance of the homes I showed you, it was shocking to me that they are selling for so little. However once I peeked inside I can see a few reasons why 1) they are still on the market and 2) the price is so much below what they paid.

The main problem I see with this home is the lack of staging and the overall outdated feel in the kitchen and living area. I would love to knock on the door and offer to help them Get It Sold, just like Sabrina Soto on HGTV. There current kitchen really reminds me of where my kitchen started long ago.

Lets see how much moolah it would take to upgrade the kitchen, you know they say kitchens sell homes.

If a potential buyer sees this kitchen they may not see beyond the orange oak cabinets and orange walls, but if I squint my eyes really really close, move to the left and stand on one foot I can see this room transformed into something that resembles this inspirational space, cant you.

Source

A fresh coat of neutral paint on the walls will go a longggg way. Lets go with Windsor Greige (Sherwin Williams) on the walls.

Source

A DIY paint job on the orangey oak cabinets and this new hardware in satin nickel will really brighten things up.

Remove the track lighting and change the brass fixture to this beauty from Lowes for less than 150.00

Since it appears that the owners have moved out, I would recommend that they remove the table in the kitchen area, because it gives the impression that the space is to small to accommodate a table under the light fixture.

Budget Breakdown

3 gallons of paint mixed at Lowes (Kitchen and Living Room Walls)       $90
Cabinet Refinishing (DIY) Paint and Supplies                                         $200
Cabinet Hardware                                                                                 $50
Lighting                                                                                                  $134.00
Total                                                                                                     $424.00

For less than $500 these homeowners could really boost the selling potential of their home. I know money is tight for most people these days, so to make some extra cash they could sell some items on Ebay, or maybe have a yardsale. With newer subdivision coming to the area, homeowners in the older communities need to think about how we can compete with up and coming neighborhoods, just because our home was built in the 90's when orange oak must have been popular doesn't mean it has to stay that way.

And if the homeowner really wants to improve the kitchen stainless appliances would seal the deal. This week HHGregg has a great deal on a Frigidaire set that includes, dishwasher, fridge, microwave, and stove for less than $2000. Boy do I wish I could jump on this deal for my kitchen.

Ebay Results (May)

2011-05-30T08:07:00.000-04:00

Selling on Ebay has been so much fun, its a thrill to watch people bid on your item and for me to make a profit makes it even better. These are a few of the top sellers for May

Ann Taylor Loft Dress purchased for $4.79 at Goodwill sold for $16.09

This Arden B capri romper purchased for $3.39 at Goodwill sold for 10.50

Total Sold             $73.59
               Minus
Ebay fees            $13.34
Paypal fees              $8.05
Clothes Purchases $28.00
Total  Expenses     $49.39

Total Profit            $24.20

Definitely not as impressive as my profit for April, but this month I had more clothes expenses. Next month I hope to see better numbers especially since all the clothes purchased in May didnt sell and I have deducted that expense already.

I've got several things listed on Craigslist as well, but not having much luck and its a pain to constantly have to go in and relist the item so it remains at the top of the search.

Any of you have much success selling on Ebay or Craigslist? Suggestions, tips are much appreciated.

Coupons Do Work

2011-05-27T12:00:00.002-04:00

Harris Teeter had triple coupons last week, just in time for me to put my new coupon binder to work. I was able to get all of these items......

For $49.00

Not to shabby, maybe one day I'll be as good as those extreme couponers and get 3 baskets of grocery for almost free. I'm still learning the ropes of couponing but I can see that its working and hubby has even gotten on board with helping me find additional coupon inserts. Little man was just thrilled about buying blueberries, look at his excitement.

By the way I have a envelope full of coupons that my family will not use so if anyone wants them leave me a comment and I can mail them to you.

Best Bang for Your Buck (Home Improvement)

2011-05-26T15:02:00.010-04:00

Do you ever log onto realtor.com and search the listings in your area even though you aren't in the market? I love to check out the houses for sale for two reasons 1)It's a great way to get decorating ideas and 2) To see what homes typically sale for in my area. Its been awhile since I logged on, but when I did recently I was completely shocked at what the houses are selling for. I mean some of them are at least $30,000 less than what they originally sold for.

88,900

105,000

123,000

These are pretty nice homes and I am now more aware of what we would face if we put our home on the market, a big loss not the gain we expected when we first bought our house 6 years ago. We are satisfied with our house for the moment, but eventually want to upgrade to a place with more space, but in this market we will be staying put for awhile.

So how do we know what to upgrade and improve. We dont want to put more money into the house just to take a bigger loss one day down the road, but we also dont want to live with things as they are just to have to improve them to sell. How do you balance improving your home without putting more in than what you can get out?

You dont have to break the bank to improve your home.

Wait for things to go on super sale, like we did when we installed our new flooring downstairs. By hubby doing all the work himself, borrowing necessary tools instead of renting or buying, and waiting for a sale, we saved at least $1,200.

Decide what will give you the most bang for your buck

According to Kiplinger, these are the top three home improvement projects that will give your home a better value.

1. Reface Your Kitchen Cabinets
Rather than redoing the entire kitchen for $25,000-$50,000, resurfacing your cabinets is an easy, cost-effective upgrade. Having your cabinets repainted will cost you between $4,000-$6,000, but handy homeowners might tackle the project themselves for a couple hundred dollars. We hired a friend to paint our kitchen cabinets and it made a huge difference. Including paint and supplies we spent $400, a good bang for our buck in my opinion.

2. Replace the Sinks and Faucets
Sinks have come a long way in design and function. The current trend is toward undermounted sinks which look great and are easier to clean. Such cast-iron and stainless steel sinks cost around $1,000. You might even have luck finding one at your local Habitat Restore or even on the ever popular Craigslist.

3. Replace Your Countertops
Improved laminate countertops are the more affordable options at $25 to $50 per linear foot and silestone carries a $50-$125 per linear foot price tag. For a more expensive designer look, concrete or recycled glass might be attractive options.

Although these three projects will give you a good return on your investment any realtor will tell you the best projects for improving the value of your home are the most affordable and the easiest to do yourself, the house and yard should be cleaned and all clutter removed. Good curb appeal will draw them into the home, and a clean clutter free one will help them see past the outdated appliances and see potential and not problems.

What upgrades, renovations are you doing in your home these days?

The Gallery Wall is UP

2011-05-25T14:56:00.015-04:00

I still have several finishing touches to add to the kitchen, but I finally have been able to get a great start on adding a gallery wall to this blank space. My handmade apron (by me) was getting a little lonely.

After finding some inspiration, I started out by googling “techniques to hang gallery walls'”, and ending up with lots of information. The Youngsters process seemed the most precise, but at the same time time consuming. Other people have laid the frames on the floor and moved them around until they found the best configuration. Me, I just eyeballed it, no tools required other than a hammer and nails. I think things seem straight and pretty balanced.

I decided I wanted to add some texture to the arrangement and snagged a woven platter at a yardsale for fifty cents and the frames with the lemons were rescued from my failed yardsale. My favorite piece would have to bee the BEE Happy print I found here. I still have 6 other frames I could add to the mix, but I’m not sure if I will. I also need to find something to put in three of the frames, preferably something that's not wordy.
Although I really like this print, I’m not sure it “goes” well with the overall room. It has some of the colors from the curtains, but I fear that the red is throwing things off, what do you think?

So, now I am left with a bit of a dilemma, do I keep the print and find new drapes, because when I look at this picture the print totally makes sense.

See how the orange and green compliment the print. It seems like I need more pink if I am going to keep these drapes. Just when I think I’ve got it figured out, such is the challenge of an amateur decorator.

My Romantic Home

Ginger Snaps

Projects Galore

2011-05-24T12:29:00.000-04:00

At the beginning of the year I shared with you that I have a goal of completing 101 goals over the next 1001 days. One category on my list involves tackling home projects. I've made a little progress, but still have a long way to go. Lets take a look at what I have accomplished.

Items in italics are in process or I have atleast purchased the materials for. Items in red are DONE.

58. Paint all baseboards.
59. Update light fixtures in kitchen, dining, living room, entryway, and bedrooms.
60. Follow cleaning schedule for 2 months (0/2)
61. Buy a new bath rug for the master bath.
62. Decorate master bathroom.
63. Decorate spare bedroom.
64. Create a compost bin.
65. ~~Plant a fruit/vegetable garden.~~
67. Landscaping in the front and back yard.
68. Hang a picture collage
69. Add Board and Batten treatment to master bathroom
70. ~~Organize master bedroom closet~~
71. Organize little mans bedroom closet
72. Paint cabinet in master bathroom and add hardware
73. Paint dresser in master bathroom
74. Decorate dining room space.
75. Rehab or purchase dining room table and chairs.
76. Hang curtains in all rooms. (3/6)
77. Change all door knobs to brushed nickel.
78. 2 new lamps for living room.
79. Make or paint headboard for bedrooms (0/2)
80. Decorate living room.
81. Paint kitchen table and chairs.
82. Add crown molding in dining, living and kitchen.
83. ~~Add hardware to kitchen cabinets.~~
84. Make a sewing/craft area
85. Install countertops in kitchen
86. Install countertops in bathrooms (0/3).
87. Complete the Spring Clean Year Round Challenge.
88. Menu Plan for one month and stick to it (0/1)

89. ~~Organize pantry~~

90. Organize coat closet
91. Redo the flooring in the entire house (~~downstairs~~, upstairs)
92. Have the house power washed

I am the type of person that loves to see projects crossed off my list because it gives me motivation and momenteum. With such a long list, I think its imortant to take a look at what is actually feasible with our small buget and what will take the shortest amount of time to complete.

Projects that are FREE or Inexpensive and EASY

(my definition of inexpensive is $30 or less)

58. Paint all baseboards.
60. Follow cleaning schedule for 2 months (0/2)
61. Buy a new bath rug for the master bath.
62. Decorate master bathroom.
64. Create a compost bin.
68. Hang a picture collage
69. Add Board and Batten treatment to master bathroom
71. Organize little mans bedroom closet
72. Paint cabinet in master bathroom and add hardware
73. Paint dresser in master bathroom
81. Paint kitchen table and chairs.
87. Complete the Spring Clean Year Round Challenge.
88. Menu Plan for one month and stick to it (0/1)
90. Organize coat closet

Projects that are DIY but are a bit more costly

(projects range from $50-$150)

63. Decorate spare bedroom.
66. Change out the big mirror in the master bathroom to 2 framed mirrors.
67. Landscaping in the front and back yard.
76. Hang curtains in all rooms. (3/6)
78. 2 new lamps for living room.
79. Make or paint headboard for bedrooms (0/2)
80. Decorate living room.
84. Make a sewing/craft area
92. Have the house power washed

We really will have to save our pennies to tackle these

59. Update light fixtures in kitchen, dining, living room, entryway, and bedrooms.
74. Decorate dining room space.
75. Rehab or purchase dining room table and chairs.
77. Change all door knobs to brushed nickel.
82. Add crown molding in dining, living and kitchen.
85. Install countertops in kitchen
86. Install countertops in bathrooms (0/3).
91. Redo the flooring in the entire house (~~downstairs~~, upstairs)

Its so nice to see that I have a lot of projects that I can complete without breaking the bank. I know sometimes it seems like we only see the big things that need changing like my kitchen countertops, but if we think about it fixing a lot of little things can have a big impact. Its no need for me to sit around and twidle my thumbs waiting for the day I can pick out granite countertops when I could take the time to paint a dresser, or finish a picture wall. Jen over at I heart organizing is thinking about home projects too and has a FREE download to help you keep them organized. I'm going to print it out and I think you should too.

Brain Power

2011-05-23T13:43:00.002-04:00

Don't let your kids forget all they have learned this school year over summer break. Since both hubby and I work outside of the home, little man will go to a sports camp everyday over his summer vacation. But just because he is on "vacation" doesnt mean that his brain doesnt need to get a workout as well. In addition to maintaining his tutoring schedule we plan to implement "school" at home.

How can we prevent kids from forgetting everything they were taught, CREATE A SKILLS REINFORCEMENT KIT that targets math, reading, writing, and spelling.

Math Practice

I am going to have little man practice addition/subtraction facts three times a week for ten minutes. To make this fun he will be able to choose a variety of ways to practice including using dice, cards, manipulatives, flashcards or worksheets to practice with. I also found these games at Confessions of a Homeschooler that I think will be lots of fun.

Spelling Practice

Assign students to practice spelling words three times a week for ten minutes each. Child may write his words, use letter beads, letter tiles, magnets etc. A good resource for spelling words is the Dolch list which includes "service words" (pronouns, adjectives, adverbs, prepositions, conjunctions, and verbs) which cannot be learned through the use of pictures.

Journal Writing

I really think writing is important so I am going to encourage little man to free write at least one paragraph three times weekly in his notebook and illustrate each piece after he's written. I hope to expand his writing topics and will provide him with the occassional writing prompt. I found this notebook at Target which has lines at the bottom and a blank space for illustrations.

Reading

Little man will read for ten minutes three times a week at least, and we will continue with our nighttime routine of reading a story to him. I also printed off this hundred's board to track the number of books that he reads. I'm thinking that after reading 10 books he can earn a reward maybe a trip to Ritas for an icee or a trip to the dollar store.

Heres a list of suggested items to have on hand for your reinforcement kit

domininos
deck of cards
letter tiles or beads
flashcards
box of crayons, colored pencils or markers
Magnetic Poetry words or word stickers or cards (write a variety of words on pieces of index cards or plain stickers)
books at reading level
printable math worksheets or workbooks at child's academic level
printable spelling word lists

I dont know if I ever shared with you all but I use to be a teacher. I absolutely loved teaching 3rd grade, but its a hard job that doesn't pay well at all in my state so I decided to transition to higer education which pays much more but I am definitely not as passionate about it as I was teaching the little people. I honestly still get a thrill out of going in teacher supply stores and I stalk homeschool blogs all the time because I secretly would love to homeschool at least through the elementary years.

Do any of you homeschool?

Whats your plan to keep your kids brain powered up over the summer?

A New Coupon Binder

2011-05-18T23:22:00.002-04:00

Harris Teeter will have triple coupons this week which means they will triple the value of any coupon up to .99. I'm all about collecting my coupons, but haven't been good about using them lately, but I know that I can save some serious cash this week if I use them correctly. First I know that my binder needed a complete overhall. It had clipped coupons (mostly expired) stuffed in the outside cover and the inside was a bit of a mess.

Look at all these expired coupons, money down the drain, with my new binder I hope to reduce this pile alot.

I was already using the every popular baseball card method of organizing the coupons, but my categories were a bit too broad and it took forever to find the coupon I was searching for. Enter the Krazy Coupon Lady and her FREE printable of 36 categories and it will be so much easier to find the coupon when I'm planning my shopping trip. If you haven't visted her before you should stop by and see all that she has to say about coupons.

Doesnt my binder look much better? I can hardly wait to go shopping.

Do you coupon? A few ladies at my church asked me to teach a coupon class in a few weeks. I by no means feel like a expert and I'm definitely not an extreme couponer, but I hope to be able to pass along the knowledge that I do have.

If you were to go to a coupon class what would you want to learn, any suggestions for keeping it fun. I'd love to hear your thougthts.

Time for a New Wreath

2011-05-18T13:07:00.000-04:00

Since I spruced up my porch for the summer, I have been on the look out for a new wreath. I loved my pottery barn knock off wreath that I made a few years ago but it was falling apart and really only appropriate for Easter, so for the past few weeks my front door has looked a little nekeed, see what I mean. Whats hanging on your front door these days?

It use to be (before I knew about blogging) that I would do a lot of window shopping at my favorite stores to find inspiration. Well, since I discovered blogging I simply do a google search and I can find all sorts of inspiration. I simply googled DIY wreaths and look at these beauties, not only are they super cute, they look easy enough for me to tackle. I'll let the pictures speak for themselves.

Source

Source Unknown

Source

Which one do you think will look best on my front door? I have a favorite can you guess which one!!

Sprucing Up The Front Porch

2011-05-10T21:56:00.003-04:00

I cleared off all the junk from the front porch and gave it a good ole cleaning. It looks ten times better than before, just ignore the black spots on the cement, hubby decided it would be okay to spray paint on the porch without putting a tarp down, ole well.

Oh, yeah I didnt take down those horrible dead ferns yet because they had itty bitty baby birds in them. As much as I wanted to get rid of them, I just couldnt bring myself to throw them away.

This rug was in my yard sale but luckily for me it didn't sell because it looks great on my porch.
The little aqua tray use to be baby pink, nothing that a coat of spray paint couldn’t fix.

And in a few more weeks I hope these flower beds are nice and full.

I still have several things to do like find a wreath for the door, fiqure out how to disguise the black spots and replace the hanging baskets. Have you spruced up your porch recently?

How Not To Have A Welcoming Front Porch

2011-05-03T11:10:00.000-04:00

I spent a lot of time outside over the weekend while having my annual yardsale. Since I had so much downtime with the lack of steady customers I took a long look at my ~~beautiful~~ porch. Come on in.

Yes the new trend in home decor is to lay your DIY wreath beside your door not actually hang it up if it happens to fall down. Oh, and dont mind the pollen filled boots laying here, its apart of the ambience.

Please make sure you wipe your feet on my lovely doormat, isnt she a beauty.

Oh and while we make chit chat at the door be sure to take in the beautiful ferns flowing in the Spring breeze.

Why sure, I'd love to give you some tips on flower beds. I know mine looks so ~~pathetic~~ lush and beautiful.

Isnt this porch magazine worthy?

Sit and stay awhile, opps you probably cant find a spot to sit.

The porch is the first thing that guests and passersby see when they come to your home. It should be inviting not cluttered with stuff.

In my defense the extra wicker sofa (on the left) was sold at my yardsale and was waiting for the new owner to come and pick her up and the other wicker sofa was full of yardsale stuff (shopping bags, snacks, etc..) that is not usually on the porch. However I have no excuse for the raggedy rug, shoes, or wreath not being re-hung or taken inside.

I spent the better part of Sunday afternoon clearing off the entire porch and planting two flower beds and one container pot using the flowers above.

Heres a little sneak peak of the flower bed on the left.

How does your front porch look these days? I hope it looks better than these befores, stay tuned for the afters.

Annual Yard Sale (not an epic fail, but not far from it)

2011-05-02T17:01:00.000-04:00

I held my annual yard sale over the weekend and think that I may throw in the towel with holding these sales. I had a lottttt of stuff to get rid of and I would say I only sold 25% of the items. Now before you go thinking "she probably just had some junk to sale" take a look at what I had.

An Eddie Bauer Travel System in near perfect condition drew a lot of people asking me "how much", but no sale. I looked on Craigslist and most systems are being sold for $80-$100, my asking price was $85 and I paid well over $200 for it. Was this to pricey? Several Leap frog toys priced between $2-$4, name brand clothes and lots of household items.

Not one item in this picture sold.

I did sell the birdcage and hanging file, but those brand new pictures for $2 nope not even an offer.

I had Great Signs in Bright Pink with large writing. I didnt put a lot on the sign so people could acutally read it and had arrows directing them. The one thing I guess I should have done was place an add in the paper, but I never check the paper when I yard sale so I assumed that most people don't. Perhaps I assumed wrong you know what they say about assuming.

It wasnt a total lost I made a profit of $79 which sounds okay, but when I consider the time put into getting all this stuff organized and priced not to mention the time for the sell I only made about $7 an hour. I really dont like the sound of that. I was hoping for a profit of at least $200. Do you have successful yard sales?

If I decide to hold another one I will definitely advertise better, but I'm not sure what else I could have done. I really thought my prices were fair. I hauled off a truck full to the GoodWill and I am planning on listing the stroller on Craigslist as well as some of the other baby items. Most of the household items will be taken to a local consignment shop where I can make 40% of the sell (not the best but better than zero).

I am having a lot of luck with my Ebay sells. The last week of April I started selling some more items on Ebay, here are the results.

April Total Ebay Sales               $68.48
Clothes Purchased for Sale         $5.00 (other clothes sold were my own so I'm not including those in the expenses)
Ebay Fees                                  $9.02
PayPal Fees                               $3.76
Total Profit                                 $50.76

I probably spent about 3 hours taking pictures and listing items so thats about $17.00 an hour a lot more bang for your buck than my yardsale.

My biggest sale on Ebay was this fantastic Ann Taylor Dress New with Tags that I purchased from the Goodwill for about $5.00

It sold for $39.00, how awesome is that, just the motivation I need to keep on selling. I'd love to be able to start selling the Shaklee products that Erin talks about all the time because unlike Mary Kay which I love and sell you dont have to carry inventory or host parties. She simply blogs about the fantastic products and makes extra money to supplement her income how incredible is that.

Making Money on Ebay

2011-04-28T07:42:00.000-04:00

I mentioned here that I am working on my Masters Degree in Social Work. I have been in a part time program for the past two years and next year I have to go full time. Full time school means that I will have to leave my secure full time job, a scary thing in this economy. I am fearful of living on one income and fearful of not being able to find a job upon graduation, but in my heart of hearts I know that God doesnt give us a spirit of fear but of a sound mind and that he will guide us along this process. I belive that he wouldnt have allowed me to gain acceptance in school and manage to juggle all my responsibilites thus far to quit. I am forging ahead and beleivng that in the end a year of sacrifice will be worth it.

I recently found a great blog My Dear Trash. She supplements her hubby's income by selling things on ebay and craigslist that she buys from yardsales, thrift stores, etc..Some weeks she has made $500 in sales. I am going to try this out and see what happens especially since I love to yardsale and thrift shop. I listed some of my personal items last week and so far have made over $20, a long way from $500, but its twenty more than I had. Curious to see what I have listed, you can check it out here.

How do you make extra money? Any ebay/craigslist tips you want to share?

Organize Now (Week 1)

2011-04-27T12:53:00.000-04:00

I have so much going on in my life, that I often forget to do, to call, to pay, to make, to email and seriously need to get myself organized and NOW! Jennifer Ford Berry's book Organize Now is just the book to help me organize my life.

I was acutally kind of shocked when I read this weeks challenge, because it doesnt invole cleaning our junk drawers, closet or paper piles. Instead the challenge this week is Organizing your mind! When you think about it, it really makes sense. Before we can truly organize our "stuff" we must be mentally organized. This week I will be de-cluttering my mind, wanna join me.

Week 1 Goals

Get at least 7 hours of sleep a night

I try to go to bed no later than 11 each night and wake up around 7, thats eight hours of sleep. However, I often wake up during the night and my sleep is broken up. Many mornings I wake up tired and because I wake up later than needed I find myself rushing to get ready for the day.

Keep a To-Do List

My list can be found in a small journal scored from the Michael's dollar spot. I love the feeling of marking through something on the list. I found this really neat Daily Docket sheet here that would be handy to use. I really like that it has you list 3 Most Important Tasks (MIT's) to focus on for the day.

Start a Journal

I use to journal all the time, its so nice to clear your mind and put it all down on paper.

Limit TV

I dont watch a whole lot of TV, but I do have my favorites that I watch each week. I use to be addicted to General Hospital and Young and the Restless, but have weaned myself from these for the most part.

Schedule Breaks (for yourself)

Break, whats that. I'm constantly doing something most of the time.

Pray/Meditate

This is another area of my life that needs work. I pray before meals and sadly I find that I pray more when I need something. Scheduling time to focus on prayer and allowing God to speak to me would be soooo very beneficial. I also need to do a better job of praying with my little boy and teaching him the importance of prayer. How to you schedule your prayer life? Any strategies you find helpful in teaching your kids about God and prayer?

Exercise

Yeah right, I never exercise. I guess thats why I have put on 20 pounds in the last 2 years. I have the tools, just need to use them. I started the 30 Day Shred with Jillian Michaels but after 1 day I quit. It was soooo intense for my unfit self, but after seeing these before and after pictures maybe I should give it a try again.

Schedule “me time”

I'm sure this would help me and everyone else around me feel better and help me recharge. Do you have "me time"? Sometimes I will sneak off to the GoodWill by myself or HomeGoods to browse in peace.

De-clutter

This is an ongoing project for me. I am finding it so freeing to get rid of stuff. My finances drive me crazy so this is one area that I am working on de-cluttering. I am working on having a yard sale so its a little easier to part with stuff if I am making some money in the process. Things that I would like to make a little more money on are listed on ebay or craigslist.

My bloggy friend Erin told me that Bonnie has a entire series devoted to this book. You should definitely check it out.

I’m Back Finally

2011-04-22T22:55:00.001-04:00

Hello, Hellooo, anyone still here! Do you remember me, I use to post here! Well I guess you could say that life has been super busy and I being the unorganized blogger that I am, I didn't have post scheduled ahead of time.

I’ve been taking this little guy to soccer

Clipping a whole lot of these for my revamped coupon binder (post coming eventually about this)

Decluttering, Decluttering, Decluttering,

And

Writing Papers so I can eventually put these three letters behind my name

MSW

While waiting for hubby in Lowes, I found a book called Organize Now by Jennifer Ford Berry. What really stood out to me is that little notebook paper on the cover that says

A week by week guide to simplify your space and your life

BINGO! Just what I need! She tells me exactly what to do and in order!!! I can do this, right?

With so much going on in my life this little book is going to come in handy

Weeks 1-4 focus on Organizing Yourself, it makes sense that we should focus on getting ourselves organized before we can move on to other areas of our life and home. I look forward to reading all of Jennifer’s tips.

Have you read Organize Now? Want to join me and Organize Now?

Kitchen Island

2011-04-06T15:40:00.003-04:00

Hey guys, I havent forgot about this little ole blog, but I have been a very busy bee lately at work, home and school. At any rate I am moving right along tweaking things in the kitchen. I've purchased frames for the gallery wall and have been looking high and low for more inexpensive art choices. Since I have that project under control, I'd like to get your opinion on what color to paint the small "island". Currently its white, not the pretty ballet white on the cabinets, just a crisp basic white. It stands out like a sore thumb and it needs a little makeover. Here it is in the current state of whiteness

Kinda bland, right. So my dilemma is what color to paint it. What do you think?

What about a pretty aqua color....

Source

Or maybe a bold, and sunny yellow

Source

Or should I play it safe and stick to white?

Here is a close up of the fabric in the room.

Oh, by the way eventually I want my table and chairs to transform into something that resembles this.

Source unknown if you know please let me know

Saving on Home Decor (One Kings Lane)

2011-03-30T13:14:00.001-04:00

I just found out about a great way to save on home decor from Nester and want to pass it along to you in case you havent heard about them.

OKL {thats their nickname} is an online sample sale that’s open to the public. They list deeply discounted home related items for 72 hours and often sell out before the sale ends. The only thing you need to do to have access to the sales is join by entering in your email address so OKL can send you sale emails {no worries, you can set your email preferences to get them less often, but I like to be reminded to check every day}.

Some of the items are targeted toward really high end designers with prices that are wayyyy out of my budget, but they also have items and prices that regular folk like me can afford. One thing that I really like about OKL is that you wont have to worry about everyone having "your" item. As much as I love Target, Pier 1, Pottery Barn etc... its nice to have some items that are unique that my in real life peeps dont have (is that selfish, I hope not). These are some items that I am really thinking about purchasing.

What makes shopping at OKL even better is when you refer your friends you get a $25 credit after they make their first purchase. Its kind of like a domino effect I invite you and you invite your friends and we all win. If you decide to sign up at OKL, I'd love for you to follow my referral link

DIY Art That Doesn't Break The Bank

2011-03-30T07:11:00.001-04:00

Since I've decided that a gallery wall in the kitchen is in my future. I've been looking for ~~cheap~~ inexpensive wall art that looks great. Here are just a few ideas I'm thinking about using.

Tart House

Katie has a entire archive of DIY art, I'm a big fan of this one.

Other frugal art options are:
Frame a coordnating piece of wrapping paper or fabric.

Visit the Vintage Moth for some great printable options and frame um up.
Frame some of little man's creations.
Make my own version of subway art.

The list can go on and on. What do you do for frugal art?

I think I want a gallery wall

2011-03-29T13:53:00.000-04:00

See this blank wall in my new kitchen ....

I'm trying to decide what to do with it.

Before the redo it looked like this

But I moved the cabinet to the middle of the room to act as an island so I am left with a big wall of nothing.

Longgggg ago the blank wall had three floral pictures, but it didnt really cut the mustard as they say. See what I mean, the red and green just wasnt the look I really wanted.

I'm leaning toward a gallery wall and have been searching for inspiration because I am a visual decorator, I need to see it first.

Here are a few gallery walls that caught my attention.

Weclome to Heardmont has a really cool and eccletic gallery wall in her living area. I like how she mixed frames and has a lot of texureal interest with the rattan charger and the small round mirrors.

I also adore the arrangement at Young House Love and how it extends down the wall close to the baseboards. They choose a more cohesive look and used all white frames.

And here Caitlin Wilson designed a wall that is a mix of the two, different colored frames that run down the wall close to the baseboards. This image really made my decorating heart skip a beat because of the pink art which would complement my new DIY tablecloth drapes.

Which one do you like best? Can you picture a gallery wall in my space?

New Kitchen

2011-03-28T00:01:00.009-04:00

I am beyond thrilled with how our kitchen redo turned out. It has come a long way. Just a reminder of the before.

I thought I had more pictures of the before, but cant find them at the moment, that's another project,
Organize my Pictures.

Enough with the small talk, here’s what you want to see.

Step on in….

How do you like my tablecloth drapes? Here’s a close up.

I moved the cabinet into the middle of the room but I still need to repaint it to match the white on the cabinets or maybe paint it a fun color.

Notice the new hardware, it really makes a difference in the complete look as does the added crown molding to the top of the cabinets.

A few things you might want to know:
Cabinet Color: Ballet White by Benjamin Moore mixed in Valspar Paint
Wall Color: Bedford Gray by Martha Steward mixed in Valspar Paint
Cabinet Knobs: Target Clearance isle (only 98 cents each)
Drawer Pulls: Lowes (approximately 4.00 each)
Flooring: Swiftlock from Lowes (only 10.00 a box regular price was 26.00 a box)

I still have some tweaking to do, like figure out what to do with this wall of gray because my handmade apron looks a little lonely.

So what do you think of our redo. I’d love to hear your thoughts and suggestions for this blank wall.

I'm linking up to these fun parties, make sure you buzz by and leave them some comment love

Best DIY Projects of March from Beneath My Heart

Pattern Play

2011-03-23T07:46:00.003-04:00

Taking a room from OK to “WOW!” means integrating different textures, patterns, and colors. Mixing several different patterns in a room can make a homeowner nervous, I know that it does for me. My safest inclination is to keep the majority of the room solid and use pattern sparingly perhaps in the pillows. While the room will look okay, it will not have the WOW factor that we are all striving for.

Since I am still tweaking our Master Bedroom, I thought it would be a good idea to see how a pro has worked different patterns and textures in a room successfully. John and Sherry have great style and always blow me away with their design skills. Lets take a look at their newly decorated guest room.

Isn't it fan-freaking-tastic, I love it. I wish I could pick the room up and dump it in our house, thats how much I love it. But since I cant do that I figure I could learn a few things from how the room looks.

Anchor the Color Scheme

Start with one pattern and pull all of room's accent colors from it. In John and Sherry's guest room the two pillowcases provide the primary palette for the room: yellow for the rug and pillows on the side chairs, teal for the walls and accented in the drapes, green for the headboard, table lamp and side table.

Pattern Size

A good rule of thumb seems to be to include small, medium and large scale patterns. John and Sherry's largest pattern, the area rug really anchors the room while the small and bright floral pattern really draws the eye to the bed. To keep everything coordinated, each fabric has white in the pattern. And remember, texture can be interpreted as a pattern, just like the pillows on the accent chairs in John and Sherry's guest room.

If I can ever find the my pillow, I will be able to finally finish tweaking this room, I think.

How do you mix patterns and colors? Any other rooms you think I should look at for inspiration?

Want to see the entire guest makeover reveal, buzz on over to Young House Love, grab a snack because you are bound to stay awhile.

Spring Wardrobe Shopping (New York and Company)

2011-03-22T11:46:00.000-04:00

One of my favorite stores to shop is New York and Company, to me they are a mix between the "teeny bopper stores" and large department stores such as Belk or Macy's. Looking at my current Spring wardrobe I seriously need to add in some new pieces and make my look a little more cohesive. I went shopping virtually and picked out these items that would quickly update my wardrobe. I'll let the pictures do the talking.

All of these items can easliy be mixed and matched to create at least 6 different outfits, thats an average of 31.00 an outfit (excluding jewelery and shoes). Not to bad, but for a frugal mom like me I think I will visit Will first to see what he has in store.

SUBTOTAL $254.69

Discount -$70.00 (go here to get your coupon)
Total $184.69 (before sales tax)

Where are your favorite places to shop? Are you updating your look for Spring?

I've got a Makeover

2011-03-19T22:56:00.001-04:00

Notice anything different about my blog. I got a makeover and it was a true blessing. You see I had been contemplating getting a premade blog design, but hadn't decided on one yet when I received the following comment from Erika.

I'm a graphic designer and it's a little pet peeve of mine to not see a header...LOL!
I was asking the Lord how I could bless someone today--and the opportunity presented itself, so I've made up a header and a matching background for your blog. It's free, no strings attached.

I have a totally new look and I couldn't be more thrilled. Erika is in the process of getting her new blog up and going, but she does have a great Etsy shop with some great printables and templates for paper crafts for scrapbooking, cupcake toppers and more. Please take a mintute to go over and see all that she has to offer and if you are in need of a blog design she's your girl.

No New Projects

2011-03-17T07:07:00.000-04:00

I'm forcing myself not to bring in any new projects until I catch up on the ones that I have already started or have the materials for.

1. I've got to use this paint on the orangey oak cabinets in our Master Bathroom.

2. Clean out this closet.

3. Organize my ribbon like this.

4. Use this system to organize my sons school papers.

5. Paint the upstairs hallway.
6. Clean off the front porch.
7. Put the Christmas decorations in the attic and out of the spare bedroom.
8. Make some DIY magnets.
9. Finish my picture wall.
10. Finish my home management binder.

Am I the only one who has multiple projects going on at the same time? What projects are you working on?

Cutting up a Perfectly Good Tablecloth

2011-03-16T07:15:00.002-04:00

Over the weekend I went into TJMaxx in my hometown looking for "the pillow". Unfortuneatly I didnt find the pillow but I scored new bedding for my Master Bedroom and this fabulaus tablecloth. I absolutely loved all the colors in the tablecloth and knew that they would make perfect drapes for my new kitchen. My mom the seamstress was with me and concurred that it was in fact possible to turn the table cloth into curtain panels. Picture me doing the happy dance here.

In my inital kitchen plan I showed you fabric from Tonic Living, but at almost 15.00 a yard I would have spent 120.00 just on the fabric for two panels and a window topper for the kitchen door. That was a true budget buster. Enter TJMaxx and for 19.99 I was able to get two 90" panels and enough fabric to make the topper, its a completely different color pallete but I think it goes great in my kitchen. I loved the pattern so much that I purchased another tablecloth just in case I decide to move these in a different room and need more panels.

Original Plan for Drapes New Plan for Drapes

Here's a better look at the pattern as my mom gets busy measuring and cutting the fabric.

And she begins to cut, notice I let her do this part I figured I'd let the "professional" do it.

and here they are hanging in my "new" kitchen

40 Bags in 40 Days (Update)

2011-03-15T07:06:00.001-04:00

After being inspired by Sarah from Clover Lane, I am committed to getting rid of 40 bags of stuff from our home during the 40 days of Lent. So far I went through the house and picked up things that I knew needed to go and tossed them into a big bag for Goodwill, see here is my proof.

Inside you will find a window valance, crib sheet, crib bed skirt, scrapbook paper that I didn’t use, and a couple of other items that I don’t even remember, I guess they really weren’t that important. I also had a bag that I labeled Consignment, I figure I might as well try to make a few bucks in my simplification process. I did give myself a few ground rules when it came to this pile.

Item should be something that I would potentially have purchased at a consignment shop.
Items must leave the house within a week and I can not go back to this pile and take stuff out.

So far these two simple rules worked very well and I took all of this stuff to consignment.

Lets hope I make a few bucks to go towards my long home improvement list. Do you eBay, consign, or just simply take all your discards to Goodwill?
2 bags down 38 more to go!

So long Green, Gray is in the House!

2011-03-14T16:42:00.000-04:00

Our kitchen has come a longggg way in only a few short months. The cabinets were painted and boy did it make the world of difference in making the kitchen feel lighter and brighter. However the bright green walls just wasnt working for me anymore, I wanted something a little more neutral but not beige. After many days googling "gray paint colors", I finally decided to ~~paint~~ have hubby paint the kitchen walls Bedford Gray and today he did just that on his day off from work. Just to remind you of the orangey oak and green walls here is a before shot.

And a sneak peak of the new wall color (excuse the quality of the picture it was taken on a cellphone)

I'm excited to get home and clean off the countertops, put up my new drapes, and accessorize. Hubby has done a great job. I hope to have the full room complete this week to show you the full transformation.

Sell Sell Sell so I can Buy Buy Buy

2011-03-10T15:13:00.000-05:00

We are steadily making progess on our kitchen renovation and downstairs floor instalation. Since we are almost done, I am itching to get started on the fun part, decorating. I've only made one purchase so far from Home Goods that will complement the kitchen design. As much as I love to shop and decorate I have to be very mindful of my budget and shop wisely.

As I have been spring cleaning and getting rid of stuff, I list items on craigslist and ebay in hopes that the item will sale and I can use those profits to decorate my "new" spaces. Its so exciting to see people bid on my items and to make a little extra money is awesome. So far i've made about 50 dollars on ebay, but havent sold anything on craigslist yet.

Isn't this desk great, its only 55 dollars.

and this rug is a great deal at only 50 bucks

Every little boy needs his own workbench

Someone puh-lease come buy this big ole couch, its only 150 and I might give you a better deal than that

Thats 280.00, if only it would sell. Any of you use craigslist and have some seller tips that I dont now about?

You see I need that money so I can buy some fabric for kitchen drapes

A new ceiling fan or light fixture for the living room because the fan is broken. I have no idea what type of fixture I want for that space, but we need more light in that room. New rugs are on the list as well.

Two of these chairs from Target would look great in the living room or our master bedroom

See, that craigslist money would really come in handy. Heres hoping the lady comes tonight and takes the rug off my hands.

Simplify

2011-03-09T07:08:00.004-05:00

I have a 101 things going on it feels like and I am trying to juggle them all, trying being the operative word. At any rate I know that I need to simplify, declutter and introduce better structure in my life. Every corner I turn in my house it seems like I find something that needs a bit of organization, my hubby would just say you need to throw that s@#t away. I really am not a hoarder, but I do have a lot of stuff that could easily be sent to the Goodwill or to the trash bin.

One of my goals this year is to become better organized, but why. Did you know that clutter has a cost and often times its a big one?

Clutter causes you to feel stressed, overwhelmed and frustrated.
Clutter steals much needed storage space (If you have run out of storage space you have to much STUFF)
Clutter makes life harder because you spend more time looking, digging, and screaming to your family because neither of you can find what you need.
It takes a lot more time to clean when you have clutter.
If you cant find what you need, you have to repalce it.
Clutter takes away the calm, peace and joy of being at home.

I am ready to put some more action behind my words. For the next 40 days I am going to work my little butt off to rid our house of 40 bags of clutter in 40 days. Last year Sarah from Clover Lane completed this task in her home and had a great experience. I am sure that I can find 40 bags of stuff to get rid of. I've already decluttered our Master Closet, Bedroom Drawers, , Toys, and Junk Drawer during Toni's challenge early this year so I feel like I have some momentum going into the challenge.

Its my hope that by the end of the challenge my rooms will feel lighter and that we will be able to find everything that we need. This space is at the top of my declutter list

Quick Clean Routine

2011-03-08T07:47:00.000-05:00

When I got back to work yesterday from over the weekend my co-worker asked me what I did. My response was we took little man to the movies and I spent the rest of the weekend cleaning. Well if you read about the recent chaos in our house you might be wondering what type of cleaning did I do. I think I washed, dried, folded, and put away 6 loads of laundry, I mopped all the floors downstairs, vacuumed that little strip of carpet in the family room, washed dishes, and more dishes, cleaned toilets and the list could go on and on.

The weekend should not be spent in a cleaning frenzy, but spent relaxing and having fun. In the past if I go away for the weekend the next weekend is spent doing nothing but domestic duties. This got me to thinking about what I could do to free up my Saturday from cleaning and be able to do some more fun things on my to-do list.

It sounds so simple but, essentially if I do a little bit all week then on Saturday I should only have to do some quick pick ups and our house should be in order. I think the key to this working will be a regular weekly rotation schedule so nothing is undone for more than a week. While checking out the blog Simple Mom I found a great weekly cleaning list that will be perfect to help me stay on task.

A few other suggestions for keeping the house neat and tidy:

Remove shoes when you enter the house
When you see something that needs to be done, do it then and don’t wait. It’s much easier to wipe up a spill when it happens instead of after it has dried.
Do a load of laundry a day.

One other thing that helps me when I need a bit of motivation to clean is to light a candle or tweak the decor, there’s something about redecorating that gets me in a cleaning mood. How do you clean, what works for you?

Lets Make Some New Friends

2011-03-07T22:04:00.003-05:00

While blog hopping last week I found a new blog friend. SJ over at Homemaker on a Dime has a great blog with lots of thrifty and decor related ideas. Every first Monday of the month she host a blog swap where you can find new blog friends to follow and in return they will follow you. This is a perfect way to meet new people and develop some new friendships. I hope you check it out and I look forward to meeting some new people.

As part of SJ's blog sway rules she has asked that we follow at least 2 blogs and feature them on our blog. I am now the follower of a lot more blogs and have met some really cool people who I may not have found without this swap. For one the blog House Finally has some great post on receipes, cant wait to try her lasagna and take a look at some of her older posts and Our Side of Pardise is the blog of a thrifty creative newlywed with an awesome sense of humor. She blogs about her thrify finds and transforming trash to treasure.

Chaos

2011-03-07T11:47:00.004-05:00

I have a new admiration for people who completely renovate their homes and do it themselves. My handy hubby has been hard at work installing new flooring in our entire downstairs and in the process Mr.. Swiftlock has caused a whole lot of chaos in our house. I should also admit that our house has not been the most organized in the past so adding in a bunch of this stuff can lead to complete disorganization and a house that looks like a tornado hit it.

Isn’t our entryway so inviting, you know with the air compressor, saw, paint supplies and Mr.. Swiftlock and friends.

Will someone Puh-lease come and buy this big ole sofa off of Craigslist, I really want it out of here, I need the space and the cash for my new drapes, rugs, etc………

The chaos continues on into the Family Room, we even started a new trend half carpet half hardwood. How do you like that look?

Hubby has done a FANTASTIC job with this project especially seeing as this is his first time and he has done it all alone on his days off from work. It’s taken some time, but in the end it will be worth it, I look forward to sharing it with you.

I heart this pillow

2011-03-03T07:46:00.003-05:00

This pillow is my all time favorite find at TJMaxx. I absolutely love all the colors and the pattern is floral but has a touch of vintage whimsy, if that makes any sense at all.

I have been searching high and low for its twin for the past 6 months in every TJMaxx, Marshalls or Home Goods store that I find with no luck until Saturday when the stars aligned and I found two pillows in this pattern in a smaller version, oh well beggers cant be choosy right. I'm still holding out hope that I will find the twin, but until then I'm satisfied.

So what do you think, will it work in my master bedroom? Have you seen this pillow?

Longest Bedroom Redo EVER!!!

2011-03-02T16:09:00.031-05:00

Wayyyyy back last year in January I teased you with my Master Bedroom update and left you hanging with this before shot.

Before

I can not believe that we lived with that yellow/gold color for 5 years, what were we thinking. Thinking back about it I realized that I was waiting to paint until I had new furniture, new linens, new whatever so instead of making it somewhat better, I left it alone and lived with it. After a coat of paint, some craigslist furniture, new King sized mattress, and bedding it looks ten times better. I'll let the pictures speak for themselves.

If you look closely you will notice the absense of a bedskirt. This bedding was a bed in the bag, but I didnt want it to look so matchy matchy so I am looking for the perfect bedskirt.

Looking at the room in pictures I can definately see the need for a headboard, I'm thinking about finding a thrift store treasure and giving it a coat of white paint, or perhaps a DIY upholstered one.

This is the only "artwork" in the entire room, I gotta fix that.

You see all that stuff in the corner. Thats my staging area for all of my ebay sells and see that orange planter and Home Goods bag, I plan to use those contents real soon. If I can ever get the extra closet cleaned out this stuff can go in there and a nice seating arrangement can go here.

I thought about not showing this room because it isnt finished (none of my rooms are), but figured most of us arent finished with rooms anyway and are constantly tweaking things. I was reminded by Nester that it doesnt have to be perfect to be beautiful and hope that you see the beauty in the room and not my long to-do list which includes:

drapes

headboard

art for the walls

leaning mirror

new carpet

new pillows

sitting arrangement

So how do you like it? What would you do in this room?

Linking up to the WOW Party over here!

101 in 1001 (February 2011)

2011-03-02T09:49:00.002-05:00

I told you about the new take on resolutions that I have and to keep myself accountable and on track, I plan to write a short post covering what I accomplished in the previous month and what I hope to accomplish in the next one.

2/101 goals complete, 7/101 goals in progress

February was a complete bust, I completed ZERO of the goals that I said that I would, shame on me. The one thing that I do feel good about doing in February is helping a single mom with picking up her little boy from school because she cant make it in time from her job. I know how hard it can be for me as a mom to get things done so I can only imagine how she feels with three little ones to care for by herself.

I'm hoping that March will be better and that I can cross a few of these in progress items off my list and if I just happen to accomplish anything else that will be icing on the cake. How are your "new year resolutions" coming along?

Goals in Progress

25. Perform 100 random acts of kindness for strangers (2/100)
68. Hang a picture collage
71. Organize little mans bedroom closet
83. Add hardware to kitchen cabinets.
89. Organize pantry
90. Organize coat closet
91. Redo the flooring in the entire house

You can see the details on all of my goals here.

101 in 1001 (January 2011)

Weight Watchers

2011-02-25T19:40:00.000-05:00

I stepped on the scale on Monday and said to myself "its time to do something about all this weight you have put on" The scale read 175, OMGGGGGGG thats only 25 pounds away from 200 pounds. I knew that weight watchers has worked for so many people because it doesnt deprive you of anything, sounds like my kind of plan. I went to the meeting on Wednesday night, signed up weighed in and started tracking my points today, so far so good. Stay tuned for a before picture where I let it all hang out just like on The Biggest Looser, hopefully seeing a visual will also keep me motivated.

Current Weight 178.2

Home Goods Does a Blogger Good

2011-02-24T07:35:00.002-05:00

I don’t think I’ve mentioned before how much I heart Home Goods. I could literally spend hours in this store just looking. On a recent trip I fell in love with these simple things for my kitchen redo. These dot hand towels are super cute with a vintage/modern vibe going with the aqua and orange color.

This set of small bowls will be perfect sitting on a shelf or as a place to put my pampered chef scrubbers.

So that I stay on track with this project, I am forcing myself not to use any of these pretties until the space is done (well as done as I can get), that way I will have something to look forward to. So what do you think, like my finds? Do you shop Home Goods?

Kitchen Progress

2011-02-23T07:21:00.001-05:00

We are progressing right along on our mini kitchen renovation. So far we had the cabinets painted, and hubby is almost finished with the flooring in the space. I took these photos without any staging (aka cleaning up), so it definitely doesn't look as crisp as it will once we are finished. The crown molding added to the top of the cabinets makes a huge difference, I'm so glad we decided to go ahead and get this done.

Want to know more about where this kitchen redo is headed check out my first design board here. I started to wait until the final project was complete to show you, but I know I love to see other peoples real time progress so I thought you might like to see mine.

And a quick reminder of the orangey oak

I thought I had taken pictures of the entire room in its orange oak glory, but I can’t locate them at the moment, but you get the picture, right. Are you tackling any kitchen projects these days?

Its Going Down Down Down

2011-02-22T07:30:00.000-05:00

New floors that is. I’m so excited to see how the rooms downstairs are being transformed with new laminate wood flooring. Handy hubby is doing the work all by himself which is saving a whole lot of money. He did have his trusty little sidekick help with pulling up the carpet, it was so cute seeing him work so hard.

So far the non dining, dining room is complete except for adding the base molding. It is amazing how much bigger and brighter the rooms look with the nasty carpet gone and I guess it helps that I put stuff away and moved the big ole couch into the other room to wait until someone buys it off craigslist. We also finished painting the other two walls Olympic Dusty Trail mixed in Valspar paint.

A little side by side action

And for your viewing pleasure a few more shots

I still have a long way to go to get this space looking like I want, but its come a longggg way. Have you done any flooring updates lately?

Don't tell me I've gained weight, I think I already know!

2011-02-16T06:00:00.002-05:00

If I had a dollar for everytime someone has said to me in the past few months "you've put on some weight haven't you", or my favorite "are you expecting", I would have enough money for the new stainless steel appliances I want from Lowes. Yes I have put on weight, and no I'm not expecting, I realize this and I really don't need you to ask, Its obvious to me when I look in the mirror and step on the scale.

I could take the easy way out and blame it all on having a baby, but that was almost 7 years ago. Granted I did gain weight, but most of it was easily lost after a year of breastfeeding. Why then have I gained weight, its simple I dont excersise and I have a hard time eating healthy. I dont pig out on fast food, but sodas, sweets, and pasta are really really hard to turn down.

I have a gym membership, but I dont go to the gym (no time is my excuse), I have the new EA sports active 2 game for the Wii and I have never even used it (i'm to tired is my excuse), I did the 30 day shred workout, but Jillian kicked my butt so bad the first day, I never wanted to try it again. I'm really considering weight watchers, because it has worked for soooo many people that I know, but is it really worth it. I only have about 25-30 pounds that I want to loose, definately a reasonable goal, but how do I get started.

Any of you wanting to loose weight? What motivates you?

Kitchen Plans

2011-02-14T15:13:00.003-05:00

We are steadily making progress in our kitchen and I can hardly wait to see how it all comes together in the end. We already painted the orangey oak cabinets white and have added hardware to all the cabinet doors. Hubby worked really hard on his days off and started laying the new laminate wood floors and is almost done in the kitchen, it already looks ten times better. Soon the fun part of decorating will begin and I was so excited that I put together my first design board. We currently have a round oaky pedestal table that I plan to paint, but have no idea what color, any suggestions. By the way if you click on the design board it will increase in size.

L-R Paint Bedford Gray (Martha) on walls, Tempo Fabric, Pendant Light (Shades of Light)

L-R Paint Ballet White (Benjamin Moore) Cabinets, Sisal Rug, West Elm Accessories

L-R Flooring from Lowes (cherry laminate)

So what do you think, love it hate it? Sound off I'd love to hear your opinions.

Paint Copier

2011-02-10T15:56:00.000-05:00

I admit it, I am a copycat. Dont get me wrong I come up with ideas all the time, but when it has come to choosing paint colors for our home, I went the route of shamlessly copying someone else. When we purchased our home 6 years ago all the rooms were white except our Master Bedroom which was a bright bright shade of yellow/gold. We lived with this color for a long time and finally got around to painting it last year. Why did it take so long, part of the reason was that I could not decide on a paint color. That is until I saw this room and fell in love with the paint color.

Pewter and Sage

ItsTaupetone from Benjamin Moore and is a perfect shade of brown, not too dark but not too light. I am still working on this room, yes its been a year and I am still working. My hubby has diagnosed me with decorators ADD, you know start a project and never finish it before starting another, I like to say i'm just tweaking. Anyway here is Taupetone in our bedroom

This space has come a long way since this picture was taken, I will update soon with a more current photo that shows our new furniture and bedding.

The dining room is still white and serves as a catchall, I hope to remedy this soon and plan to paint it Olympics Dusty Trail which I shamelessly copied from Katie when we painted our living room.

Our most recent painting project involved making our kitchen more currant by painting the kitchen cabinets. Deciding on this color was harddddd, so in my triedand true fashion I set out to find the perfect white. As my luck would have it Britt decided to paint her cabinets and posted this teaser picture.

I quickly emailed her and asked her the infamous question, What color did you use to paint your cabinets? and see emailed me back lickety split with her color, Ballet White from Benjamin Moore. Its a really nice white with a hint of cream, enough cream so that its not stark white, but its also not yellow either. My kitchen is kind of a diaster at the moment, as is the rest of my house because we hubby is working on a BIG project that I hope to share real soon. Unitl then you can get up close and personal with my Ballet White Cabinets.

Eventually I want to paint the kitchen walls grey instead of the current Greentree from Laura Ashley paints, which I didnt copy from anyone by the way. I am thinking of using Bonsai like House Tweaking did in her kitchen. Copying is a form of flattery, right.

Oh, just as a side note, ~~I always test the color out in my space before slapping it up on the wall,~~ all of these colors were not even tested in my space before I painted the room. Thank God they werent an epic fail.

101 in 1001 (January 2011)

2011-02-01T10:30:00.000-05:00

I told you about the new take on resolutions that I have and to keep myself accountable and on track, I plan to write a short post covering what I accomplished in the previous month and what I hope to accomplish in the next one.

January 2011: 2/101 goals complete, 8/101 goals in progress

Goals completed in January

43. ~~Sell something on ebay.~~
70. ~~Organize master bedroom closet~~

Goals in Progress

25. Perform 100 random acts of kindness for strangers (1/100)
68. Hang a picture collage
71. Organize little mans bedroom closet
83. Add hardware to kitchen cabinets.
89. Organize pantry
90. Organize coat closet
91. Redo the flooring in the entire house

In February I plan to work towards these goals:

1. Blog about my thrifty outfits 33 times. (0/33)
20. Start having a quiet prayer time daily.
22. Read the Bible, cover to cover.
23. Send cards to family and friends at least 45 times (0/45)
31. Work out at least three times a week for 6 weeks (0/6)
55. Visit my dad at least 6 times (0/6)

and complete these:

33. Take vitamins every day for 30 days in a row (0/30).
42. Sell something on craigslist
52. Play with Ayden each day for at least 20 minutes for one month (0/30)
56. Teach Ayden to tie his shoes

You can see the details on all of my goals here. I hope you and I both accomplish a lot this month.

Time to Sell

2011-01-30T20:28:00.000-05:00

I've been on an organizing kick lately which has left me with a lot of items that I no longer need or want. At first thought I was going to bag everything up and send it to my friend Will, thats my nickname for GoodWill we are on a nickname basis, but after reading a few blog posts on My Dear Trash, I decided to try my hand at ebay, it is one of my goals to sell something on there. So I followed all her advice and listed 8 items on ebay.

These pair of Citizens of Mankind Maternity Jeans were purchased from Will just because I knew they were a designer brand and I thought I could make a profit.

Purchased for $3.39 and sold for 24.50

These Citzens of Humantiy jeans were also purchased from the same Will.

Purchased for $3.39 and sold for ZERO

These boys Ralph Lauren Polo jeans were a gift to my son awhile ago and he can no longer were them, so on ebay they went.

Sold for ZERO

I also listed 2 dressess, 1 boys snowsuit, a boys sweater, and a pair of OshKosh Jeans all from our personal closets.

Total Sold: $25.54
Expenses: $5.55 (ebay fees), $1.65 (paypal fees), $3.65 (cost of jeans that sold)
Profit: $14.69

I dont know if I will keep this up, but it was kind of fun to watch things sell.

Mastering the Master Bath

2011-01-28T08:00:00.002-05:00

Remember way back when I talked about painting the orangey oak cabinets in the Master Bathroom. Well the other day I was in Lowes and checked out the Opps paint and found this gallon of dark brown paint for only five dollars, I snatched it up quicker than

The color is Leather Chair which is very close to the Besty Ross House Brown that Kate used during her recent bathroom redo. You must go over and visit and get the full scoop on the room, it only took her 5 hours.

The before of this space is extremely similar to our master bath

This picture is before we painted the walls and switched out the shower curtain, I was to lazy to go upstairs and take another picture. I'm excited to get rid of that orange oak. I'll be sure to show you my finished project, eventually not promising it will be anytime soon, but one can hope. Maybe hubby is reading and will sand, and put two coats of primer on it while hes on vacation :) Honey are you reading?

Sneak Peak

2011-01-27T08:30:00.002-05:00

Guess what! We finally ~~painted~~ paid someone to paint our orangey oak cabinets white and we loveeeee them. They look tens time better and the entire kitchen looks bigger. Not only did we our neighbor paint the cabinets but he and hubby also added molding to the tops. I'm pretty excited about how this project has turned out. Our house was a mess for about a week right before Christmas, but in the end it was worth it. Heres a sneak peak of the cabinets.

I have big plans for this space, I'll be sure to keep you posted along the way.

2011-01-26T08:30:00.002-05:00

I’ve been thinking for a long time about my dining room that currently is anything but a space for dining, in fact we have never dined in there and it doesn't even have a table, instead its primary purpose is to serve as a “mudroom”, entry foyer, and catch all. What makes it so bad is this is the first room you see when you enter the house, not the most welcoming. I have had the idea for the past six years to make this space a playroom, office, craft space but hubby vetoed the idea long ago because he didnt want a bunch of toys to be the first thing you see when you come in the house. Well, in my opinion if the first thing you see is this then toys will look just as bad, so whats the problem.

I'm sure that you’ve seen the fabulousness of Kate at Centsational Girl. Her blog is wonderful and I would love love love if she would come to my home and help me with some projects, a girl can wish. Her projects are beautiful, doable, and budget friendly. After seeing her recent post showcasing her dining room turned playroom, I am now convinced you can have a stylish playroom that doesn’t scream toy overflow. Thanks for the inspiration!

So what do you think, can my entry go from diaster to delightful?

Day 21 of the Organization Challenge

2011-01-25T15:46:00.001-05:00

I went to Toni's blog this morning to see what the today's challenge is, and lo and behold its the last day. I cant beleive that 21 days have already passed, I guess time flies when you are having fun. Its amanzing how I truely looked forward to the challenge and finding inspiration from all of the participants. I plan to continue with her weekly challenges to keep me on top of staying organized. My goal was to complete every single one of the challenges, but that simpy wasn't possible while working a full time job and maintianing a household, but I am happy to say that I got a lot done.

Day 1 ~~Junk Drawer~~                                                      Day 12 ~~Spice Cabinet~~
Day 2 ~~Desk Top~~                                                          Day 13 ~~Medicine Cabinet~~
Day 3 ~~Tupperware Cabinet~~                                          Day 14 ~~Under the Bathroom Sink~~
Day 4 ~~Linen Closet~~                                                      Day 15  ~~Medicine Storage~~
Day 5 ~~Under the Kitchen Sink~~                                      Day 16 ~~Organizing the Fridge~~
Day 6 ~~Dresser Drawers~~                                                Day 17 ~~Mail Station~~
Day 7 The Pantry                                                         Day 18 Keepsakes
Day 8 Coat Closet                                                     Day 19 ~~Master Closet~~
Day 9 ~~Toy Organization~~                                               Day 20 Photos
Day 10 ~~Laundry Room~~                                                  Day 21 Your Choice
Day 11 ~~The Freezer~~

If I'd have to pick which projects have made the biggest impact on my daily life, i'd have to say my Master Closet, and the Freezer. Waking up each morning and going into a messy closet was not the best way to start the day and not being able to see what we have in the freezer often meant that we had to much of the same items. I am really proud of myself for sticking with these challenges and plan to go back and finish the ones that I didnt get to.

I've noticed throughout this challenge that

Making a space pretty inspires me to organize
I love shopping for storage options
I'm motivated by seeing the way other people organize
I really like to see other peoples messes

I love looking at organizational posts. In the next few months I want to tackle these projects I've found on blogland.

This ribbon organization meets my pretty requirement and is something that I need to get a handle on.

Again Chris at Just a Girl never ceases to amaze me. Isnt this craft organization awesome.

Jen at I Heart Organizing has a whole series on paper clutter that has my name written all over it.

I think Toni has really sparked an organizing bug and I'm super excited to continue on this process. What projects do you have on your to do list?

By the way I still need to find a home for these.

Organized Fridge

2011-01-24T22:39:00.001-05:00

Catchy title, right. I have a hard time coming up with cool titles for my blog post, but look at it this way at least you know what the post is about. I showed you my organized freezer last week as apart of Toni’s challenge and over the weekend I was able to work some magic on the fridge side. Pictures speak for themselves.

Much much better, looks like I need to do some grocery shopping.

Wanna see a few more pictures

Fruit and veggies in the crisper bin, much better than all over the place in the fridge.

Getting organized is a lot of work but it is so rewarding. I am behind on some of the challenges, you know that thing call time, but I’m determined to finish them.

Tackled the Master Closet, Finally

2011-01-23T22:49:00.002-05:00

I’m slowly catching up on all the challenges that Toni has us completing this month, only a few more to catch up on. This weekend I tackled the closet in the Master Bedroom, its been on my to do list for a longggg time, its even on my 101 list. Although our closet is a walk-in, its very narrow and nearly impossible for both of us to be in their at the same time. Not only is it narrow, it also lacks adequate shelving. I think my before pictures speak for themselves.

I took everything out of the closet threw it on our bed

What a mess, but you have to make a mess before it looks better, right?
I couldn’t make the closet wider, but I could install a new shelf. Well I really didnt do it, thats what my handy hubby spent his Saturday night doing. Thanks honey.

After throwing all of this away, moving items that didnt belong to my ~~disaster~~ holding area my closet looks like this.

My purses found a nice spot to hang, and the back of the door looks better after some purging

Eventually I will tackle my holding area in the guest room.

Look at all the stuff I got rid of

4 Belts
2 Purses
1 Pair of Shoes
3 Hats
2 Closet Fragrances
3 ties
and a whole bag of trash

15 items to count toward Jennys challenge at Words on Wendhurst, thats a total of 59 items so far.

Yes I’m still organizing

2011-01-17T22:17:00.000-05:00

Well, I got a little bit behind on my challenges, you know going to work sure does get in the way sometimes, having those snowdays were helpful. So over the weekend I organized my freezer and spice cabinet and today I tackled under my bathroom sink. I still need to organize under the sinks in the other bathrooms, but every little bit helps, right.

Lets start with the freezer. I have a side by side fridge and the freezer is small and I have the hardest time seeing what I have. See what I'm talking about.

After some containerizing putting like things with like things, it looks much better. I'm finding myself just opening the freezer to look at how organized it is. I just love these bins from Big Lots.

The narrow bin on the top is suppose to corral magazines but it is perfect for ice cream sandwiches and popsicles that I removed from the carton and the space beside it will be for some frozen pizzas once I go grocery shopping again. The second shelf is home to all those yeast rolls and frozen biscuits that I shouldn’t be eating if I want to meet the goal of loosing 20 pounds that I talked about here. On the next shelf I have all my meat, lots and lots of chicken (Kroger had a sale) so now I can easily see what I have and what I might need. My frozen meals fit perfectly in the freezer storage compartment at the bottom. The sides of the freezer got a quick cleaning and then I simply separated like items with like item.

I have to say that this transformation has been my most favorite so far. I still have a few more projects to catch up on like my pantry (which is almost done), and my coat closet (which still looks like a bomb went off). Luckily my spice/medicine cabinet wasn’t in that bad of shape

Just a little rearranging and containerizing and this project was DONE! I still need some pretty labels, I’ll add that to the never ending to do list.

And finally I tackled under my bathroom sink, followed the basic rules, dump everything out, clean, containerize and put back. Again loving my baskets, these were only a dollar at Dollar Tree. Eventually I will add some pretty contact paper and possible some hooks on the inside of the doors, but until then.

I know you want to see inside my little drawers

It feels so good to get organized. Looking forward to the remainder of the challenges that Toni has up her sleeves.

Laundry Just Got Better

2011-01-12T16:52:00.000-05:00

Another snow day here (without any snow typical here in NC). At any rate I was able to complete challenge number 10, the laundry room. My space is a laundry closet and leaves a lot to be desired in terms of space. In our next house a laundry room will be at the top of my list of wants. I have organized this space several times and within a month it looks the same, I really hope this time is different.

I cant believe I just showed you all this mess, but hey were friends, right. See that stack of DVD's in the back, yeah why are they in the laundry area. I took everything out wiped off the washer and dryer and started containerizing and this is what I was left with.

Ten times better, right. I keep repeating to myself, I will keep it clean, I will keep it clean..... There are a few things that I need to do to make the space more appealing.

paint the walls
add some decorative ribbon to the shelves like I did here
label, label, label
find a laundry sign to go on the wall
nice front load washers (on my wish list)

So what do you think, how did your laundry organizing go?

Check out A Bowl Full of Lemons for more inspiration.

Did Walmart explode in my kids room?

2011-01-11T14:06:00.001-05:00

Yay for a snow day. I have had the chance to work on this challenge all morning. Separating every toy into categories and finding the best arrangement for them took a longggg time, but i am thrilled with the results. Luckily before Christmas little man went through all of his toys and donated a bag full to Goodwill so I didn't have much to get rid of. His closet is a nice size but it has a lot of wasted space at the bottom that could be utilized better with shelving, (did you hear that hint, honey).

Of course all of his toys didn't fit in the closet so we use a nice sized bookshelf with cubbies to contain costumes, construction toys, cars, cars, and more cars. You see I did attempt this project before but the toys were not separated into distinct categories.

I used the large red cubbies for big items and used some handy dandy plastic containers for legos, lincoln logs, matchbox cars, etc... It looks so much better, all I need are some pretty labels to remind little man to put things back in the right spot. I am also making a rule that if it doesn't fit in the bin something must come out before something new can come in.

The closet still needs some work, but it looks ten times better I think. He got a ton of big remote control trucks for Christmas that I put in the large tote and then just stacked his train set on top of it. Most of his clothes fit in his dresser except for the few dressier items that I like to hang. I hope to do some more work in this closet soon, so any suggestions for improvement would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks for stopping by please come again!

Check out A Bowl Full of Lemons for more inspiration., I sure am.

I need some organizational help, please

2011-01-10T14:46:00.001-05:00

I started organizing my coat closet over my Christmas holiday and still havent gotten around to finishing it. Hopefully this challenge will be what I need to motivate me to get finished. This is the ONLY storage closet in the entire house. All other closet are in our bedrooms. This is definately an issue when it comes to having a place for everything. My coat closet looks like a tornado hit it, and I am stuck with what to do with all this stuff. Wanna see for yourself.

See what I mean. and I didnt take the picture before I moved all of this to the kitchen counter.

There is a lot of stuff in this closet. It serves so many purposes and isnt functioning well at all. I pulled everything out to take a look at how it could function better and tried to make sense of what I should do.

So far I threw away a bunch of papers that we no longer needed. I was left with a big stack of my sons school papers that I cant part with, and plan to use this system to get it organized. As for this closet it is still a thorn in my side and really doesnt look much better. The games moved from the top shelf to the floor because I dont have anywhere else to put them. I am hoping that I get some inspiration from you all because at the moment the closet still is one hot mess.

Check out A Bowl Full of Lemons for more inspiration., I sure am.

Playing Organizational Catch Up (Part 1)

2011-01-10T14:19:00.003-05:00

I didnt get the chance to work on my dressers or pantry until the weekend. Here is my progress so far..

These are the top two drawers which were pretty much organized already so they stayed the same. I use some plastic containers to seperate my socks and tights. In the second dresser I have my tanks that I roll up because it takes up a significantly less amount of space.

Before After

I was even left with and empty drawer!

The bottom drawer holds my collection of sweaters neatly folded and color coordinated.

This dresser in our closet holds workout ~~loung~~e clothes, and pj's. Again I roll up the t-shirts to take up less space. My side is nice and neat but I can hardly even open hubby's drawers, maybe i'll convince him to clean it out because I would love to be able to take the dresser out of the closet and free up some of that

floor space.

Just so you dont think i've got it all together. This space in our closet is screaming HELP! I'm sure we will tackle this space soon.

So far I have all this stuff to donate or take to consignment.

3 sweaters
2 pair of jeans
2 pair of dress pants
1 jacket
2 workout t-shirts
4 tank tops
2 pj bottoms
3 pair of fuzzy socks

19 items to count toward my goal of getting rid of 111 items in January 2011, that means I only have 66 items to go to reach the challenge over at Words on Wendhurst.

Check out A Bowl Full of Lemons for more inspiration.

Clutter Bee Gone

2011-01-07T08:00:00.015-05:00

Jenny at Words on Wendhurst has challenged us to get rid of 111 items in the month of January. So far this has been an easy task because of my mission to get organized this year. I threw away an entire garbage bag full of paper trash, donated a bunch of my hubby's clothes and sent a box full of house stuff to the consignment shop.

25 items (not including the paper trash) GONE only 86 more to go to complete the challenge. How much stuff can you get rid of this month?

Take a look at how i've organized my junk drawers, my linen closet, tupperware storage and my desk top.

Organizing Continued

2011-01-06T10:09:00.003-05:00

Yesterday I took a break from the challenge because my linen was already organized, and instead started to catch up on laundry. Because we dont have much storage space for linen I only keep what we really need. That means that I have 2 sets of sheets per bed so that when one is in the wash the other can go on the bed.

Lets take a look at how the shelves are organized

Top Shelf

Basket holds sheet set for Master Bedroom, small basket holds my mani/pedi supplies, and the other basket has extra lotions and smell goods from Bath and Body Works or Victoria Secrets.

Bottom Shelf

Stack of 4 towels and in the middle is a basket that keeps all of the bathcloths followed by another set of towels. I really like using white towels because they look so spa like.

To make the wire shelving look better I added some brown ribbon to tie in with the brown in the baskets.

When I redid this closet (over a year ago) it had a folding door that constantly got in the way, so my hubby took it off and now we have open storage which helps me keep it organized. Not only did he remove the door, but also 3 other wire shelves which we replaced with an old dresser (i plan on repainting white). The dresser comes in handy in the bathroom and we keep undergarments in the top two drawers and sheets for the other rooms in the bottom drawer.

Todays challenge is under the kitchen sink, here is my before (not to shabby if I say so myself).

There isn't much too do here except take out everything and wipe it down and hopefully put down some pretty contact paper. I would like to find some of the wire baskets like Toni has to put on the doors and label the recycling and trash can. Other than that this job is DONE!

This challenge has been so much fun, perhaps because we haven't tackled my tough spots yet.

Check out A Bowl Full of Lemons for more inspiration.

Day 3 Challenge

2011-01-05T11:19:00.005-05:00

I completed Day 3 of the 21 Day Challenge which was to organize our tupperware storage. It was relatively easy and I still cant beleive the number of bowls that were missing lids that I tossed into the recycle bin. Take a look at my before and afters.

Before I had the lids and bowls seperated

After: I decided to put the lids on and stack smaller containers inside the larger ones. By doing it this way I saved space and now I have two free baskets to use as the challenge progresses.

I hope you are enjoying the challenge as much as I am. The challenges are getting done on time, just not getting posted on the same day, something to do with having only 24 hours in a day:)

Day 2 Organization Challenge

2011-01-03T23:01:00.012-05:00

Today's challenge was simply to clean off your desk top, thats it just the top, lucky for me because the inside is one hot mess. Generally I find that I do most of my "office work" at the kitchen table because I dont have a designated office. So I created a command center awhile ago and it was beginning to look a little dishelved to say the least. Initally I used a basket with pretty folders to corrall all of the papers that come in on a daily basis, but I was finding that the folders were bending and didnt stand up easily. When I was visiting Will I scored the exact same file box that Toni uses in her mobile command center for only three dollars. I added some Walmart file folders and the space looks so much neater. I still need to label everything but my labeler ran out of tape so I will get to it this week. I know you really want to see my before and afters so here you go, I hope you enjoy.

Head over to A Bowl Full of Lemons to check out all the other spaces that are being organized.

2011-01-01T15:17:00.000-05:00

The Mission:Complete 101 preset tasks in a period of 1001 days.

The Criteria:Tasks must be specific, measurable, and realistic.

Why 1001 Days? The key to beating procrastination is to set a deadline that is realistic. 1001 Days (about 2.75 years) is a better period of time than a year, because it allows you several seasons to complete the tasks.

The Start Date:1/1/11

The End Date:9/27/13

Goals in progress are italicized, goals completed will have a strikethrough

I'm going to start keeping track of what I have done on here...check back and see how far I can get and maybe you will be inspired to try this yourself.

For Me
1. Blog about my thrifty outfits 33 times. (0/33)
2. Get a massage.
3. Keep hands and feet maintained with a manicure/pedicure. (0/5)
4. Clean email inbox and organize with folders.
5. Take a photography class to get better at photography
6. Go to the Ikea store
7. Go to the spa with my mom.
8. Buy a designer purse
9. Go to a concert.
10. Visit 3 museums.
11. Floss daily for 30 days
12. Keep my car clean every day for 6 months in a row (0/6)
13. Strengthen existing friendships and make others.
14. Get a facial.
15. Back up all of my pictures onto an external hard drive.
16. See The Nutcracker during Christmas.
17. Successfully complete graduate school.
18. Read 30 books not related to school (0/30)
19. Go to Sunday morning service 4 times in one month (0/30).
20. Start having a quiet prayer time daily.
21. Get involved in a small group at church.
22. Read the Bible, cover to cover.

For Others

23. Send cards to family and friends at least 45 times (0/45)
24. Pay for the person behind me in a drive-thru.
25. Perform 100 random acts of kindness for strangers. (0/100)
26. Take my aunt and mom for a mani/pedi
27. Invite our neighbors over to our home three times. (0/3)
28. Volunteer locally. (0/5)
29. Make a meal for a family that has had a loss or had a baby.

For My Health

30. Hit 140 pounds and maintain (give or take 5 pounds).
31. Work out at least three times a week for 6 weeks (0/6)
32. Drink at least 6 cups of water a day for 30 days in a row.(0/30)
33. Take vitamins every day for 30 days in a row (0/30).
34. Do my morning facial routine for a month. (0/30)
35. Do my nightly facial routine for a month. (0/30)

For My Wallet

36. Finish 101 in 1001 with 3 months of income.
37. Make a realistic budget for our household that we can follow every month.
38. Finish 101 in 1001 with a better credit score.
39. Pay off all credit cards
40. Start and stick with Dave Ramsey's envelope system.
41. Only eat fast food or at restaurants once a week (at most).
42. Sell something on craigslist
43. Sell something on ebay.

For My Family and Marriage

44. Take a weekend trip with hubby.
45. Go on monthly “date nights.” (0/33)
46. Go to a drive in movie
47. Host a dinner party at our home.
48. Once a month, do something with Jason that he wants to do and have Jason do something with me that I want to do. (0/33)
49. Take a family vacation
50. Go to a Carolina basketball game
51. Take family pictures
52. Play with Ayden each day for at least 20 minutes for one month (0/30)
53. Get a headstone for Alana's grave.
54. Add 10 recipes to my collection. (0/10)
55. Visit my dad at least 6 times (0/6)
56. Teach Ayden to tie his shoes
57. Send out Christmas Cards by December 5th every year. (0/2)

For Our Home

58. Paint all baseboards.
59. Update light fixtures in kitchen, dining, living room, entryway, and bedrooms.
60. Follow cleaning schedule for 2 months (0/2)
61. Buy a new bath rug for the master bath.
62. Decorate master bathroom.
63. Decorate spare bedroom.
64. Create a compost bin.
65. Plant a fruit/vegetable garden.
66. Change out the big mirror in the master bathroom to 2 framed mirrors.
67. Landscaping in the front and back yard.
68. Hang a picture collage
69. Add Board and Batten treatment to master bathroom
70. Organize master bedroom closet
71. Organize little mans bedroom closet
72. Paint cabinet in master bathroom and add hardware
73. Paint dresser in master bathroom
74. Decorate dining room space.
75. Rehab or purchase dining room table and chairs.
76. Hang curtains in all rooms. (2/6)
77. Change all door knobs to brushed nickel.
78. 2 new lamps for living room.
79. Make or paint headboard for bedrooms (0/2)
80. Decorate living room.
81. Paint kitchen table and chairs.
82. Add crown molding in dining, living and kitchen.
83. Add hardware to kitchen cabinets.
84. Make a sewing/craft area
85. Install countertops in kitchen
86. Install countertops in bathrooms (0/3).
87. Complete the Spring Clean Year Round Challenge.
88. Menu Plan for one month and stick to it (0/1)
89. Organize pantry
90. Organize coat closet
91. Redo the flooring in the entire house
92. Have the house power washed

For My Creative Side

93. Try a new recipe every month for 12 months (0/12)
94. Sew five items (0/5)
95. Bead five items for little mans regalia (0/5)
96. Host a decorating swap at our home.
97. Purchase and arrange flowers 15 times (0/15).
98. Create 3 projects found on blogs on in magazines (0/3)
99. Organize craft supplies.

For My Job

100. Create and start a new program or outreach at work.

Miscellaneous

101. Donate $10 to charity for every item I don’t complete at the end of 1001 days.

A Fresh Start

2011-01-01T12:13:00.013-05:00

Happy New Year!! I hope that 2011 brings you all the best! One of my many resolutions this year is to get organized, because an organized home runs much more smoothly. To help motivate me along this process I'm joining in with the 21 day challenge over at A Bowl Full of Lemons, she has a fabulous organization party going on and I am committing myself to complete all of her challenges. For day one the challenge is organizing the "junk" drawer which may sound easy, but i have a whole house full of junk drawers (hence the goal to get organized). I decided to start with two drawers in the kitchen which had everything in it but the kitchen sink. I'm talking broken crayons, batteries, candle lighter and the list goes on and on and on. Here see for yourself.

After emptying the entire contents, cleaning it out with my wonderful Ms. Meyers Basil scented spray, and lots of containerizing this is what I was left with. I used the same divider tray from before but it is much more organized. On the other side I used some thrifted small baskets to hold my sharpie pens (out of sight of my six year old) and a blueberry can holds paper clips.

Is'nt that much much better!!!

Ziploc bags and I are becoming best friends. I labeled one with Things to Donate, and one Find a Home for me. I had lots of magnets that I never use to send to Will (me and GoodWill are on a nickname basis). If you havent tried Mrs. Meyers run out to your local Walmart, Lowes Food, Tarjay (Target again on a nickname basis) and grab a bottle or two it cleans and smells great.

By the way the top of my little organization station doesn't look like this anymore, more like this.

Yes, its on my list to tackle so stay in touch to see this thrifty transformation.

For the month of January I'm joining Words on Wendhurst by getting rid of 111 things. So far 25 items have left the house the bag of clothes which will be donated and the box of house items are headed to the consignment shop to add to my new floor fund. (the floors in the picture are my moms by the way, not the ones I am planning to replace)

Be sure to stop by A Bowl Full of Lemons and Words on Wendhurst for more organizational inspiration.

Inspiration

2010-09-16T09:14:00.005-04:00

I'm always inspired by what people create in blogland and thought I would share some projects with you last week. Since it was so much fun sharing I thought I would keep it up this week. Hope you like these findings.

Chalkboard wall at This Blessed Nest

Ceiling Fan Project at Dittle Dattle

Mini Mudroom at House Tweaking

I really want to incorporate all of these ideas in my home. Have you been inspired around blogland this week. I'd love to hear from you.

Friend Making Mondays

2010-09-13T10:06:00.011-04:00

Five Little Questions

1) What was the most enjoyable part of your weekend? My hubby and I had date night while the lil man stayed with Grandma and PaPa. We went to a Japanese Steak House and then went to TJMax and Home Goods, two of my favorite stores. It was nice to spend some time alone and not worry about the needs of our little boy. Oh, and I tried sushi, it was pretty good though the texture isnt my favorite.

2) List two or three material possessions that you can't live without: I would be lost without a computer with internet access, my favorite blanket, and my camera.

3) Which day are you looking forward to most in the coming week? I look forward to Fridays because I am in graduate school all day and its nice to have a short work week.

4) Share one of your most embarrassing stories...Second semester of Undergrad way back in 1997 I went skiing for the first time and got stuck on the ski lift and had to ride it all the way back around for them to get me out. Needless to say that was the first and last time I went skiing I went back to the lodge and curled up with a good book while everyone else skied to their hearts content.

5) List three of your "must-read" blogs and tell us why we should read them too!

1. Chris's blog, Just a Girl, is one of my daily reads. She has the most fabulous decorting style, is completely "real". She is full of crafty DIY projects that anyone can do after reading her tutorials. Oh and did I mention that she is super organized. You must check her out.
2. Thrify Decor Chick has some amazing talent and I think she loves before and afters just as much as I do. She has great thrifty decoring ideas and has some great frugal decoring post and tutorials.
3. Jen blogs over at I Heart Organizing . I recently discovered her blog and have probably read all of her posts at least twice. She is soooo organized and offers some great printables for her readers. Not only is she organized but her organizing is beautiful and coordinated.

Head over to Friend Making Monday's to make some new friends.

Falling For Fashion Inspiration

2010-09-09T14:39:00.015-04:00

So coming up for fall I have thought about clothes and what I need to update my wardrobe that I feel good in, can afford and that allows me the flexibilty to mix and match easily. I recently found What I Wore Wednesday's at the Pleated Poppy and have found inspiration from this post about the mommy uniform at Sensibly Styled. I also really like Angie's Mom On The Go formulas at You Look Fab. Jill at the Good Life for Less is also a trendy mama and has a fall looks ebook with some great ideas. Even though I am a work outside of the home mom these suggestions and outfits will still transfer easily for my lifestyle.

These are a few of the outfits that I would like to create.

From Holy Craft

From Katie at Bella Creative

From Yellow Blackbird

Dusty at All things G and D has a awesome fashion session complete with outfits that she wore when she was preggers. Her pregnacy outfits are easily adaptable for us not preggo girls. Here are a few of the outfits I love from her site.

Oh and here's the kicker I want to find the majority of the outfits by shopping in my existing wardrobe, thrift stores, goodwill or yardsales. I'm armed with some inspiration pictures, I sure hope I succeed.

Inspiration

2010-09-08T11:47:00.014-04:00

I enjoy looking at other peoples blogs and finding inspiration in what they create, redo, renovate, cook, organize, purchase. I spend more time looking at other peoples blogs than I do writing posts for my own so I figured that once a week I will share my findings with you. Lets get started.

1. Key Ring Cardholder from Martha Stewart - I have soooo many cards to keep up with so my wallet often bursts at the seams literally because it cant hold them all. They then get thrown in my purse falling to the bottom where when I need them they cant be found. Wouldn't it be nice to have them all together, genius idea!

2. Terror Alert System - Terror Alert System

Although my child is a perfect angel and I would never in a million years need to discipline my child (yeah right), this system is perfect as it provides simple clear and reasonable punishment and rewards. Definately will be trying this one out.

Closet Organization - House of Wood

This is perfect for organizing all those itty bitty baby clothes by size. Since I dont have a real little one I thought that this would be perfect to use to sepearate by categories such as shirts, pants, play clothes, donate, the possiblites are endless.

September Goals

2010-09-04T16:23:00.002-04:00

So I didnt actually get everything DONE in August, so I will move those items on to September. Here's my new list.....

Make dental appointments
Make yearly doctors appointment

Continue with filing papers away
Organize little mans art work into a binder
Put stuff away beside couch
Finish painting dresser
Paint sofa table
Put cabinet pulls on bathroom cabinet

Organize Mary Kay business
Print pictures for photo wall
Organize movies

2010-08-24T21:57:00.002-04:00

Well I'm making a little bit of progress on my list. Take a look..

Make dental appointments
Make yearly doctors appointment
~~Hang mirror in downstairs bathroom~~

Pick up dry cleaning
Organize papers/filing
Organize little mans art work into a binder
Put stuff away beside couch
Paint dresser
Paint sofa table
Put cabinet pulls on bathroom cabinet
~~School shopping~~

Organize Mary Kay business
Print pictures for photo wall
Organize movies
~~Hang curtain rod in little mans room~~

I've got a lot to do if I would stop looking for ideas and inspiration on blogs maybe I could get something accomplished. Have you checked out Clean Mama yet and the progress she is m aking on her list.

2010-08-16T21:06:00.004-04:00

I recently stumbled across a fabulous blog Clean Mama, doesn't that blog name just scream domestic. Her blog is full of wonderful tips, ideas and printables to make life easier for us busy women. For the month of August she has a long list of items that she is tackling and I decided to tackle my longggg to do list as well.

The month of August is moving quickly and unfortuneately for me I've been moving at a snails pace on this list. Heres whats on my list to get DONE

Make dental appointments
Make yearly doctors appointment
Hang mirror in downstairs bathroom
Pick up dry cleaning
Organize papers/filing
Organize little mans art work into a binder
Put stuff away beside couch
Paint dresser
Paint sofa table
Put cabinet pulls on bathroom cabinet
School shopping
Organize Mary Kay business
Print pictures for photo wall
Organize movies
Hang curtain rod in little mans room

So you think I can get this done in 13 days, only time will tell. Check out Clean Mama and see how shes doing with her list

Master Bedroom Inspiration

2010-01-28T09:18:00.011-05:00

Yesterday I shared with you that from now on I will complete one room at at time. My first Project will be the Master Bedroom. Because I am a visual person I have been looking for inspiration rooms to get me started.

I started with inspiration from Sarah's guest bedroom and will paint the walls Benjamin Moore Taupetone.

Benjamin Moore Taupetone

Then while stalking the Youngsters I found this beautiful inspiration board that they created for one of thier readers. Though some of the items in the room have sold out or may be outside of my budget, I can definately try to find peices that are similar in style.

Instead of the solid cream curtains I am leaning towards making drapes using the fretwork pattern. So their you have it, what I hope the Master Bedroom will look like by the end of February. What do you think? Love it, hate it. What would you change? Do you think drop cloth drapes would look better? I'd love to hear your thoughts.

Project #1

2010-01-27T15:26:00.010-05:00

So over the weekend we were in target and of course I had to take a look at the home decor, not that I was shopping for anything in particular I just like to look for ideas for the future. I found this really pretty gray and yellow pillow that I thought would be a great inspiration color for a room, and hubby burst my bubble before I could even say anything about it. Instead of "honey thats a nice pillow where do you think it will work in our house", I hear "we dont need any more pillows".

At first I was a little ticked off, but after he explained that yes, we may eventually need pillows for whatever reason at the moment we do not. He went on to say that he likes my decor projects, but he would appreciate if I would finish one before starting another. OK, so he's right, ughhh! So one room at a time it will be from this moment on. Since I am a big thrift shopper like Katie over at Bower Power I am going to use her suggestions and make a list of what I need for a room and if its not on the list it doesnt make it into the cart. I am also taking Melissa's advice to tackle one project a week and not wait until the day that we decide to put the house on the market ~ get it done and enjoy it. That being said,

The first room on my project list is our Master Bedroom, and here is what I plan to do

1. Paint the walls Benjamin Moore Taupetone (inspired by Sarah's lovely guest bedroom)
2. Purchase King size mattress
3. Upholster headboard
4. Purchase or paint dresser, chest, nightstand
5. Purchase armoire
6. Purchase bedding
7. Purchase drapes
8. Accessorize

I definitely have my work cut out for me and I would love to have this project finished by the end of February. Do you think I can do it? We may get some snow this weekend so it will be the perfect time to stay in and paint the day away!

Bee Focused

Transformers

West Elm Cork Canister Knock Offs

DIY Mirror for only $1.00

Organizing my Ebay Business

Phase 1 Closet Makeover

Favorite Yard Sale Finds

My Thrifty Adventures

Chores, we all gotta do um

You Can Accomplish A Lot in 60 Minutes

Blog Organization

I heart Before and After Pictures

Curb Appeal

Get It Sold

Ebay Results (May)

Coupons Do Work

Best Bang for Your Buck (Home Improvement)

The Gallery Wall is UP

Projects Galore

Brain Power

A New Coupon Binder

Time for a New Wreath

Sprucing Up The Front Porch

How Not To Have A Welcoming Front Porch

Annual Yard Sale (not an epic fail, but not far from it)

Making Money on Ebay

Organize Now (Week 1)

I’m Back Finally

Kitchen Island

Saving on Home Decor (One Kings Lane)

DIY Art That Doesn't Break The Bank

I think I want a gallery wall

New Kitchen

Pattern Play

Spring Wardrobe Shopping (New York and Company)

I've got a Makeover

No New Projects

Cutting up a Perfectly Good Tablecloth

40 Bags in 40 Days (Update)

So long Green, Gray is in the House!

Sell Sell Sell so I can Buy Buy Buy

Simplify

Quick Clean Routine

Lets Make Some New Friends

Chaos

I heart this pillow

Longest Bedroom Redo EVER!!!

101 in 1001 (February 2011)

I told you about the new take on resolutions that I have and to keep myself accountable and on track, I plan to write a short post covering what I accomplished in the previous month and what I hope to accomplish in the next one.

2/101 goals complete, 7/101 goals in progress

I'm hoping that March will be better and that I can cross a few of these in progress items off my list and if I just happen to accomplish anything else that will be icing on the cake. How are your "new year resolutions" coming along?

Goals in Progress25. Perform 100 random acts of kindness for strangers (2/100)68. Hang a picture collage71. Organize little mans bedroom closet83. Add hardware to kitchen cabinets.89. Organize pantry90. Organize coat closet91. Redo the flooring in the entire house

Weight Watchers

Home Goods Does a Blogger Good

Kitchen Progress

Its Going Down Down Down

Don't tell me I've gained weight, I think I already know!

Kitchen Plans

Paint Copier

101 in 1001 (January 2011)

I told you about the new take on resolutions that I have and to keep myself accountable and on track, I plan to write a short post covering what I accomplished in the previous month and what I hope to accomplish in the next one.

January 2011: 2/101 goals complete, 8/101 goals in progress

Goals completed in January

In February I plan to work towards these goals:

Time to Sell

Mastering the Master Bath

Sneak Peak

Day 21 of the Organization Challenge

Organized Fridge

Tackled the Master Closet, Finally

Yes I’m still organizing

Laundry Just Got Better

Did Walmart explode in my kids room?

I need some organizational help, please

Playing Organizational Catch Up (Part 1)

Clutter Bee Gone

Organizing Continued

Day 3 Challenge

Day 2 Organization Challenge

A Fresh Start

Goals in Progress

25. Perform 100 random acts of kindness for strangers (2/100)
68. Hang a picture collage
71. Organize little mans bedroom closet
83. Add hardware to kitchen cabinets.
89. Organize pantry
90. Organize coat closet
91. Redo the flooring in the entire house