Corner Room Reveal

As you know I have been participating in the room organizing challenge hosted by Organizing Junkie.  Today is the final reveal of the room. I am 'uber excited about how far I have come, in one room, in one month! I now feel like my little Corner Room, that I started with, will be used so much more and I won't cringe and die a little inside each time I open the french doors. In fact, the kids asked to do their homework in the corner room today. I'm going to call it. Winning!

First Progress Check
Second Progress Check
Third Progress Check

Hold on to your hats! Here we go. I love a good before and after.



I really can't believe that I had that much non-craft stuff in there. Most of the stuff was tossed. There was a lot of stuff that I was holding on to. We are talking decades here people. I purged. Purged, and more purged. I feel good.



The treadmill area isn't super dramatic. This area was working before, and it still is working. I was able however to relocate my hand weights, yoga mat, bolster, and yoga ball, to inside the closet. Because there is so much space now.



Again, the launch pad area was working, just needed to be cleaned up a little.



The floating shelf overhead however, different story. When you stood under it, at the launch pad, it felt like the board games were all going to come toppling down on top of you. Problem solved.



I am so very much in love of this fix. Before the printer sat on top of the container that I keep all my scrapbook paper in. When the printer was actually printing, the whole thing, shook. Like an 8.4 size earthquake. I re-purposed an old two drawer night stand. It was in my daughters room, 100% empty. Took out the drawers, sanded it, painted it (with left over living room paint), and made three new shelves with materials I found in the garage. Now with the printer on top, the paper below is organized into printer paper, cardstock, colored paper, etc.



The far corner used to have the bookshelf thingy, with a door, and more board games on top. It was never used. Most of the stuff inside got tossed, as well. Some of it went into the craft closet, and some of it went to the bookshelves in the living room. Now there is a desk in there, the length of the room. Built by my husband, with upcycled pieces from the garage, and below are a few drawer totes, I pulled from other spaces in the house. The cricut now has a permanent home.



That bookshelf thing with door, also got sanded down, and painted.  I hung in on the wall, above the desk.  It holds all the boardgames- with room to spare- and since it has a door, you can't see all the games, all the time.  Those mirrors, we already owned, and I am so pleased with where they landed.  Good feng shui says, to not have your back to the door, unless you have mirrors in front of you.  To act as a rear view mirror if you will.  They are both beautiful and functional.  They came from Ikea, years ago.

 




Moving right around to the next corner, is where the old desk (which I still love) used to be. It is now in the garage- taken apart- waiting for me to decide what to do with it. Now we have the elbow of the new desk, where my sewing machine has a new permanent home. There is also a corner shelf piece, on the desk. Again, it was in my daughters room, unused. Sand, same paint, and now it is the proud owner of my tulle. On top is an old fish bowl/vase, that is holding the tulle scraps, that often get used by the kids.



Next is the edge of room.  It used to have those totes there, with tulle and material.  Now it is where a chest of drawers stands.  In it, is everything I need to sew- notice it is next to the sewing machine.  Material, needles, thread, etc.  Everything for sewing.  On top is an old vase, that I filled with all the plastic flowers and large feathers I found in the craft stuff.  There is also my music activated dancing flower.  I got that when I was around 8, in Thailand.  I remember picking it out with my Dad from a street vendor.  They were everywhere, and I wanted one so bad.  It has been in a box, for 10 plus years.  now it is out, and with fresh batteries, was dancing away, when I took these pictures!

Just to finish off the photo part of this essay: a nice parting shot of the new, made from what we had, desk. 



Question and Answer:


1. What space did you decide to organize and why?
     I did my corner room.  Others would call it a den.  I did this room, because it was the catch all room.  Literally, right off the living room, and around the corner from the front door, it was a dumping ground, and it got used everyday.  I use the treadmill everyday, and my kids, keep their coats and backpacks there.  It was intended as the craft room as well, but never quiet got there.  The closet did an okay job of holding the craft supplies.  However when they were needed, we found them, and took them to the kitchen, because the desk was just not a useable space.  I also wanted to be able to leave the beautiful french doors open when we have friends over.  This room, is also transformed into the guest room when guests come, two or three times a year.

2.  What steps did you take to ensure you completed the space within the 29 day timeline?
      I used the time line that you provided for the challenge.  I spaced out my steps with each progress check up, using the PROCESS.  Each weekend, I received help from my husband, and daughters.  I also made sure that I worked a minimum of 30 minutes each day.  Sometimes those 30 minutes were productive, and others, well, were not.  I was not cramming at the last minute,  In fact, I was so proud of how I didn't cram on the last day- that I rewarded myself with a Starbucks stop, before I went home today to take the after pictures.  You can see my cup on top of the sewing chest of drawers.  Being done, before the dead line- Is. So. Not. Me.


3.  What was the hardest part of the challenge for you and how did you overcome it?
      I have two 'hardest parts'.  The first was my inability to purchase new 'things' I wanted for the space.  I wanted to get all matching totes, for the craft closet.  I wanted to get a new desk.  It just wasn't in the family budget.  I used what I had.  The totes in the craft closet are the same, as before.  Now they are less stuffed.  Like is with like.  They aren't uniform, but there is much more usable space in them.  My husband, was able to upcycle some pieces we had in the garage for a new desk.  I am very happy with the outcome.  I wish the top was painted, or covered in a thin layer of counter.  Even with out that- the desk is what I had envisioned.
    The second hardest part, was throwing out my theater playbills and posters.  Sure I had five or six.  It didn't matter.  There were tears.  But I kept telling myself, I only need ONE!  One beautiful poster.  One beautiful playbill.  I always have kept extra, " ... in case something bad happened to one, or two, or three...".  Now, I have one poster, one playbill.  And I am going to start framing them- so nothing bad will happen.


4. What did you do with the “stuff” you were able to purge out of your newly organized space?
    Most of my purged stuff went to the recycling or garbage bins.  Some old books, have been donated to the local friends of the library program, some were relocated to the bookshelves in the living room.  The desk, is in limbo, in the garage, waiting for me to make a decision. 


5.  Tell me one of your proudest moments during this challenge?
     I have so many proud moments from this challenge.  Time spend with my oldest teenage daughter.  Both of us happy, laughing, sharing.  Huge.  Creating a space, that I am proud of.  An area, where my youngest daughter is already creating wonderful new masterpieces, with me.  Following thru, and finishing.  I am a Gemini.  I start a lot of projects, before I finish a single one.  This was something I started, focused on, and finished.  No side tracks.  Being creative, and using what I have.  I knew it before, that I am the Queen of Using What I Have.  It feels good to be reelected Queen.

6.  Explain any organizing “tools” you used to help you create additional space and to establish some limits and boundaries?
     I used the PROCESS, a lot!  Removal was big for me.  I found a lot of stuff in the room, that I had no idea was in there.  I also used furniture, from the rest of the house, that wasn't being used well, and repurposed them for this room.  The two-drawer night stand that is now a printer stand and paper sorter.  That means all that paper is out of the craft closet.  The sewing chest of drawers.  No more totes.  Now, if the material won't fit, in the chest, I need to purge, or use.  If I get more stuff, then my space will allow, I need to use or purge.  No more collecting, for 'someday'.  Someday, is now.  Use it or lose it!  I also created a "mortified" box.  It is a box with all my 'past life' stuff.  Tokens from high school, college, etc... That I just can't toss, yet.  But it is all together, in one box.  One day I hope to just take a deep breath, and dump the whole box, with out looking. 

 7.  What is ONE piece of advice you’d give to someone else to encourage them on their organizational journey?
       Stick with it.  Push thru.  Lost your mojo?  Keep working!  Your mojo will come back.  Don't wait for inspiration to strike.  Carry on with the plan, and magically inspiration will strike, when you need it the most; but only if you are working.

Thank you Laura.  You are an inspiration.  I have learned so much about myself.  I have learned the PROCESS.  I wanted to start my next space, the master bathroom, mid-month, but I stuck with one room, and I am so glad I did.  I will however be doing the master bathroom, starting tomorrow- and giving myself all March, to finish.  I already feel like I have won.  I have a beautiful space I created, with my family.  We created memories while we created the space.  And now we get to use the space, together.  Lastly, a big Thank you to the sponsors. 

Pirate Princess Party

This will be the first of my party blog posts. I love to reach back to my catering days, and fuse that with my Mommy days, and produce a whole creative and inspired party, for my daughters. This one features my Pirate Princess. That's what she wanted. Pirate Princess. Not Pirates and Princesses. No, Pirate Princess. I didn't find a whole lot, on that theme specifically. I found a lot of Pirates. I found a lot on Princesses. But very little on Pirate Princess. So, with out further adieu, here is my interpretation of a Pirate Princess party for a preschooler.

As guests pulled up, there was a giant 'X-Marks' the spot X. I simply made it out of left over 2x4's found in the garage, and painted them red. On the front door, was a banner I made, that read, "Ahoy". I did not get pictures of either of these things.



This was the tablescape. The banner reads, "Happy 4th Birthday PJ" I found all the paper in the clearance section at Target. Cut down the pieces, punched holes with fun shape punches, and used twine to tie it all up. My trusty cricut cut out the letters.



1. I served, triangle sandwiches.  Peanut butter & jelly.  Egg salad.  Cream Cheese & jelly.
You see there on the right, is also a topiary of dumdum's, a glass with red vines, and a steamless wine glass with pixie sticks.  (swords- you know)  Barrel juice, with straws. 

2.  Cupcakes, baked in ice cream cones.  Jolly Bird Bananas:  frozen banana slices, dipped in peach juice and rolled in crushed frosted flakes- served with tooth picks.  Walk the Plank: celery sticks, cream cheese and raisins. Cannonballs: peanut butter, powdered sugar, rice krispies mixed together and dipped in shaved coconut, served cold.

3.  Bottle Water: with the label, Pirate Grog

4.  More of the same paper from the banners, rolled into cones, and filled with none other than, Pirate Booty.  Another cup with rid vines.  And finally salt water taffy skewers.  (each child will get to take one of these home, in their good bags)



A simple treasure chest cake.  Two sheet cakes, off set.  Iced with brown icing and decorated with M&M's.  The bottom cake has the middle cut out, and filled with treasure and jewels.



At the very last minute, my Pirate Princess, asked for a pinata.  So, Daddy made this over night.  Old cardboard boxes, paper machie, sticks from the yard, card stock, and tissue paper.  He made a little too well- because I had to beat it apart, after the kids failed to make a single dent.




I covered our wet bar nook, with a black plastic table cloth I found at the Dollar Store.  Again, another set of banners with the same paper.  This one says, "Pirate Loot".  This is where the presents were placed.





Finally, my Pirate Princess. In a Pinterest inspired photo, with a collection of her favorite things, at the time, walking the plank.

I hope you enjoyed my take in a Pirate Princess Party.  Have you put together a party, that was a difficult theme that turned out beautifully?  Tell me about it in the comments, link your post if you'd like.  I would love to hear about it!  Happy Party Planning!  

Room Challenge: Home Stretch

We are in the home stretch of the Organzing Challenge. I started with the Corner Room, and updated here and here. Today is the final update, before the upcoming big reveal. I have been working the PROCESS, and this week my focus was on E (evaluate) and S (solve & simplify).

In my grand plan, we were to acquire, something from Craigs List, or the like, for me to re purpose or upcycle into a usable desk space. Remember, I love my current desk, but it just isn't cutting the cake, in this space. Unfortunately, none of my go-to places seem to have what I was looking for, for free. So I went back to the drawing board. With my husband's help, we solved the problem. I found some particle board in the garage. He volunteered to cut it down, and while it won't be the prefect desk top, it will sit nicely on top of these beauties.


These were found around the house. One was in the bathroom- taking up precious space. I think the last time I got something out of it, was at Halloween. One was holding toys. Old toys. Toys that have not been played with in over a year. And finally, one was holding meds, homeopathic & prescription. Way to be super save, there Super Mom! So they all got emptied out, (used the the PROCESS- to purge/donate/relocate) cleaned up and moved into the Corner Room. While taking everything - I realized, that next month, I will be working the PROCESS in the master bathroom. It is in desperate need of an overhaul. Especially now. Challenge? Accepted!

I also realized this week, that I am probably the family inheritor. Not in a good way. I take, (willingly- sometimes) everything else the family doesn't know what to do with. How this happens with me being the only out-of-state family member, I'm still a little baffled over. My sister, who is also participating in this challenge, (see her work at Crazy Organizing) might disagree. But I ask you: why do I have these?

The gremlin bag? I never saw the movie until it was a Saturday afternoon B movie rerun, on basic cable. Nope- that bag- was my sister's. *love* The purple/pink-ish bag, we both had one. And those strange looking bows and Christmas tree things? Those are t-shirt transfers. My parents had a store for a while, that specialized in personalized t-shirts. Why do I have these? Simple. I am the family inheritor. Will I still inherit? Yes. Will I let the stuff I inherit age two or three decades before I purge again? No. Absolutely not. Will I move five or six times, times with this stuff again? No. I have grown. I have changed. I have PROCESSED. Finally, today, one last time, before my big room reveal next week:

You see there in that purge pile? Live Theater posters. That- is very hard for me. I love having a poster, or five, from every play I have worked on, and playbills. But I don't need five. I need one. One poster and one playbill, from each show. Maybe in a frame. So, purge, purge, and purge, as painful as it is, I do not need more then one.

Don't forget to check back next week, for the big reveal. I am looking forward to seeing what everyone has done and showing what I have done, on a zero budget. And then, I am looking forward to moving on to another space in my home, in need of the PROCESS. The Master bathroom.

Mobile posting abilities

I recently discovered, I can compose & post from my phone.  My beautiful, wonderful, phone.  Where would we be without our phones?  Right now, I wouldn't be posting.  That's for sure! 

Tell me about your phones.  Your love.  Your hatred.  How they help you.  How you use them. 

I was talking to some friends the other day about our phones.   When our youngest kids are 'phone age' the 'free phone' is going to be a smart phone.  I'm not sure I like that.  But I do like my smart phone.   Do you? 

Org Junkie Room Challenge: Progress Week 2

Progress Check!  If you are looking to get caught up on all the fun:  The Challenge is from Organizing Junkie

You can see the start of my journey here and my first progress check here.

This week my focus was on the O (organize) and C (containerize) of the whole, PROCESS. Working on the room this week, has proven difficult for me. I still have my motivation, so that wasn't the issue. No, it was more a feeling of, "What next"? I was at a loss of what organize and containerize meant to me. I couldn't go out and buy a bunch of new boxes, or desk, or interesting dividers. What I found was a dresser, in my daughter's room- that wasn't being used... much. So we emptied it out, sanded it down, painted it, with left over living room paint, and voila!


This 'new' dresser has been re-purposed into our new sewing dresser. It is the proud owner of material, needles & thread, and sewing accouterments. All that used to be housed in two large 58 Gallon totes and several plastic bags. While going thru these totes and bags, I had a lovely 15 year old daughter assistant. This gave she and I a wonderful opportunity to spend some quality time together.  I actually heard her say, "Mom, your enthusiasm is contagious".  That. Made. My. Day.

Laughing + Sharing + Smiling = Happy Mommy

 

Next came time to start putting some of the craft supplies back in the closet.

I even got a new shelf in there! That will soon hold all the kid, 'no permission needed' craft supplies. I have also started to pay attention to the shelf the supplies are kept on. The most used need to be more accessible, then they were before. While at the same time, the least used, can go up higher.

I am still looking to use my old bookshelf, in a new and fancy way. It too, got a light sanding and a new coat of the same living room paint.


Finally, my two favorite parts of the room this week:

Challenge- Progress Week One

Today is our first progress check for the Organizing Challenge, over at Organizing Junkie

Her PROCESS to purge, clean and organizing, is keeping me on track with my corner room.

The PROCESS is simple:

P: Plan: plan the space, plan your steps, what works, what doesn't, etc.
R: Remove: Just like on all the shows: empty the space, and start with a fresh clean slate
O: Organize: Piles: sell, keep, toss, donate, relocate to another space, etc.
C: Containerize: Find and implement, storage solutions that work for you, time, space, budget, etc.
E: Evaluate: Is the plan working? Are you on track? Do you need to modify anything?
S: Solve/Simplify: Any other issues, that you need to address?
S: Smile: You did it!

In the first week of the challenge, I have begun the PROCESS and completed, P and R.

My Plan:

What was working in my corner room:  treadmill, the closet to house the crafts, launch pad, printer
Not working:  Organization of the closet, printer stand, corner bookcase, boardgames up high, boxes, table
Budget:  Zero. As a family of five on an enlisted military salary, there is no extra money in the budget to spend on the room. Never fear! I am the queen of using what I have, making it over, re-purposing, and upcycling to "Make it Work".
Timeline: The Challenge is the entire month of February with check in dates thru out. I will work little by little each day, and on the weekends, the Mr. and kidlets will help out, as needed

New Systems:  Ribbons on a rod in the closet. Better use of bookcase, shelves, better printer stand- perhaps with the printer paper in the stand- 'New' desk- still modular, and easily removed and stored when room is used for guests

Here are a few pictures to show you my progress thus far:

While I was emptying out the craft closet, I discovered that there was a lot, A LOT, of stuff in there that was not actually crafts.  I was under the impression before emptying out, that removal of the stuff was silly, as all of it got used, regularly.  I noticed that only three totes on the top shelf ever got used, and that 4 totes on the top shelf were not even crafts!  I had no idea.  Also, discovered that the lowest shelf, was not the most used shelf- that in fact the middle shelf was where most of the everyday supplies were kept.  Out of reach from the daughters.  But there fore nothing was getting put away properly- because it was too much work.  So the space in front of the boxes on the lowest shelf is where stuff would collect, from not being put away- because it was easy.  AH HA!  I also noticed that since the filing cabinet never actually made it into the closet from the garage, there was a lot of junk, piled up, on the floor of the closet.  So now I need to decide if the filing cabinet should live there- or if I should ask the Mr. to put a few more shelves. 


This bookcase, has been in the corner for at least 6 months.  I don't remember a single time in those 6 months, ever using anything in it.  Heck- I don't remember even looking at the bookcase- other then to get a board game down from the top.  Not Working! 


The desk.  I heart this desk.  It changes height, it can even change angles.  But it isn't working in the space.  Not the way it is being used, at least.  


The board games above the kids launch pad- is fine- if you don't mind feeling like they are going to fall down on your head, as you use the launch pad.  The printers up there, was only okay also.  All the cords are there too!  (bonus point)  But that means, you have to get them down, plug them in, etc, to use them.  I would much rather have a space for them to always be out and usable, like the large printer.

My thoughts on the PROCESS so far- thank goodness for actually doing P and R!  I know that I have planned before, but I don't think that I have ever removed.  A clean slate is really necessary.  I had no idea more then half the craft closet was not crafts.  I also had no idea that the bookcase was never used.  I now know that I should remove each and every time I redo a space.  Thank you Laura - thank you.

Finally, to end this weeks link up progress post, a few pictures of the stuff- removed from the room.  

Organizing= the corner room

I have joined the challenge, over at Organizing Junkie
I am going to work this month, to reorganize my
corner room, others call it a den.

It's the room that holds my treadmill- (and it gets used everyday)

It's the room the holds the daily launch pad (where the kids hang their backpacks & coats)

It's the room that the printer is housed. 

 
It's the room where the sewing machine; all craft supplies live.
It's also transformed into a guest room, when guests come to visit. 
It is a multi purpose room, and needs to be that way.

Because of such, it is a crazy smorgasborg of corners. This corner is the treadmill, that corner is the printer, that corner is the sewing machine, this corner is the backpacks, this corner is the desk, that corner...wait that's too many corners! See- this is the problem.


Challenge. Accepted.