Clutter Free January: Laundry Room

Dear Sis,

I have been holding out for three years, because I want cabinetry in our laundry room, but reality finally sunk in. We can’t afford that right now! I decided to look for a more cost effective alternative to manage the visual clutter of the space.

Cube Storage is a very inexpensive option. Now, I can grab something from the top shelf without the domino effect! The labels are some clip art I dropped into a word processor, printed on card stock, cut out, and hot glued in place. The labels covered up those terribly cheap looking metallic plastic grommet handles many cube storage options have.

We’ve all seen the various farmhouse style Laundry Co. signs in just about every decor section for that last few years. My closet size space hardly allows for something of that size and I liked the idea of making it feel a bit more personal and I’m always up for a good pun. I repurposed the frame and bought a new navy mat for $2.50, and made a fun sign on a word processor. It fills that tiny random gap above the dryer nicely and the colors go perfectly with the rest of the space:)

Happy Decluttering!

Love,

P.S. It’s always nice to have a helper hoist things to you while you are on a step ladder!

Clutter Free January: Pantry & Toy Storage

Dear Sis,

This month our mom group is getting ahead this year, by working on decluttering our homes. Today we took everything out of the pantry. We discarded everything expired, wiped each shelf, and restocked what remained. Our pantry is small! I would have never guessed that 2 trash bags of stuff could come out of it!!! It’s so much easier to meal plan, with tidy food storage!

After all the time at home tidying, the kids and I decided to visit Once Upon a Child. We found a great KidKraft train table, that looks like grown-up furniture. It has added great storage and another play surface to the living room! I think it is going to be an awesome fit for our family. At $38, it’s hard to do it wrong… lol.

Happy Decluttering!

Love,

More Green in My Life

Dear Sis,

Today, while big brother was at play school, Charlotte and I ran to Hobby Lobby for some greenery.

After lunch, I got little miss to take a nap, and William and I got to work cleaning off the top of our kitchen cabinets and adding the greenery.

We even added ivy to the hanging light above the kitchen sink.

We ended up having a late dinner. I didn’t anticipate how difficult it would be to remove 15+ years of dust and grease from the cabinet tops!

We used some of the extra on the curtain holders in the play room.

Love,

Back Yard Landscaping

Dear Sis,

I have wanted to landscape the back yard since we moved in, nearly three years ago. We began working on it back in the beginning of August, just a little at a time, during the kids outdoor evening play time. We finished today!!!

There is a small plot on the other side of the deck steps that isn’t visible in this photo. That is where I plan to put my kitchen herb garden.

The visible deck portion is where William is going to grow cucumbers. He eats pickles by the jar-full, so it seems like a good thing to plant:)

In the corner, near the storm drain, I plan to place a zucchini plant.

The bit alone the back of the sunroom, is where I plan to have William plant a row of green beans. I want to incorporate gardening into the kids schooling routine. William will only be four next year, so I only wanted to plant a few easy things, for his very first garden.

We used all the rocks we dug up, to create pretty drainage below the water drain. I aspire to use stones below all our down spouts eventually:)

Both the kids really enjoyed playing in the dirt while I weeded and seated the landscaping stones. William was fascinated by all the insects we unearthed. Charlotte learned not to put the rocks in her mouth. We taught her to put them in a pail instead!

Love,

New Kitchen!

Dear Sis,

This week we had the kitchen floor replaced. It makes such a big difference… I feel like I have a new kitchen!!!

We are the third owners of our home… and the third to install a kitchen floor. The dark is original, the light is the second floor that was coming up at the seams. Here is what we chose:

… a laminate tile with acrylic grout. I wanted the look of stone without having a cold hard floor with troublesome grout. The guys come back tomorrow to add the trim and replace the washroom and laundry room fixtures.

We schooled right through the construction chaos:)

Love,

Double the Art

Dear Sis,

When Carter comes to play our chalkboard is over burdened by the two boys trying to use it at once, I decided it was time to add a second art station. William and Charlotte will need it soon enough anyway:)

For all the other mom’s out there that are exasperated with finding caps for washable dry erase makers, I recommend trying washable dry erase crayons!

Love,

Making Blackout Curtains

Dear Sis,

Daddy moved William’s toddler bed out of our room and into his room. We explained that baby sister will cry and wake him up, so it is best for him to sleep in his own room. He nodded and said, “Baby sister fuss like Baby Em at night night.” Your visit left an impression in more ways than one:)

His first night went well, but the following day during nap time, he said, “Mama turn the lights out.” I replied, “Sorry sweetie, I can’t turn off the sun.” We hung a blanket over the window as a quick fix, but I realized it was time to make some blackout curtains for William’s room!

Not sure exactly how to go about making curtains, I did some research online. I used this measurement guide to help me decide how large I wanted my finished panels to be.

Confetti Style: Your Guide for Stylish Living

Then, I stumbled upon this wonderful tutorial: How to Make Blackout Curtains

I went to the fabric store planning to buy 6 yards 54 inch wide home decor fabric and blackout lining. JoAnn Fabrics carries a suitable lining for $8.00 a yard. As a bonus it was, 30% off. However, I was unable to find a suitable home decor fabric in that width, so I decided to look in the 45 inch width section. This width change meant I needed 9 yards and I’d have to piece my curtain panels. Sadly, all the fabrics I liked were on an 8 yard bolt! Feeling a bit defeated I wondered the clearance section. Just as I was about to wrap things up and many try Hobby Lobby instead, I found the perfect 45 inch wide fabric on a 10 yard bolt on clearance for $3.00 a yard! My 20% off entire purchase including sale and clearance items kept me on budget at $54.00.

Assembly took the better part of a day… wrestling huge heavy rectangles slows the simplicity of a bunch of straight seams. I hastened the process of creating rod loops, by using Dritz Rod Loop Tape along the top edge. I happened to have a pack in my notions box I picked out of a clearance bin some years ago:)

We are using the curtains on the rod left by the last family, so our curtains look much to long and full at present, but Papa Carmin will hang the new rod for us when he comes with you to help with baby sister’s arrival.

The curtains work so well, the picture is quite dark:)

Love,

New King Size Bed

Dear Sis,

When we decided to try for child number two, Josh decided we needed to upgrade our queen sized mattress to a king. I guess he was imagining his pregnant wife and toddler hogging the bed and himself in the spare room. We ordered an upholstered bed frame 5 weeks ago and it arrived today:) Now we all fit!