Fun Nursery Pictures

I have been collecting nursery pictures for my super cute next door neighbor who is having her first baby (a girl) in June.  Here are some of my faves.

Vivi's Room via House of Turquoise

Leighton's Room via Life Made Lovely Blog.

Source unknown.  Via Pinterst

Source unknown.  Via Pinterest.

Kitchen Organization

Those of you that have been in my kitchen (or in my house for that matter) will laugh that I am posting about any kind of organization.  Let's just say I am not by nature a super organized person.  I am rather laid back, and my house reflects that.  I do, however, like a somewhat minimal and clean home, so I need all the help I can get to keep it that way.

So today, I am posting tips for the organization of the naturally unorganized.



Part One:  Fridge Junk

One thing I just don't like, and I truly apologize to all of you that have this, is the fridge front plastered with all kinds of pictures and junk.  I HATE a messy fridge front.  My personal solution to this, is a hidden wall in my mudroom, where I keep calenders, chore charts, and kid stuff.  I am planning some kind of a permanent cork-board wall solution, but until that happens, I just stick everything right to the wall.  I know some people may object to this, but it works for us, and it works for me because it keeps everything close, yet I don't have to look at the clutter all day long.

Also, the chore chart is an invaluable tool at keeping on top of jobs in the house, and keeping kids accountable to their responsibilities.


Part Two:  Pet Gear

One of the best purchases I ever made, was this lidded Pottery Barn basket.  I saved up, and paid full price for it because it was the PERFECT size to hide our plastic bin of dog food.

My basket was from the Winston collection, which I don't think they are making anymore, but I am sure there are other options. (The Pottery Barn Havana line could be a replacement).

Anyway, I LOVE that the dog food is close at hand, it doesn't look ugly, and because it is down low, and easy to access, even our six year old can take his turn feeding the dog.

The other "so simple its genius" pet solution I have for you, is to buy a hook (available at any hardware store), and hang up your dog leashes by the door.

Now I have to say, I would not do this next to my FRONT door.  I happen to have a back door that is in the mudroom, so I don't mind the hook and leashes in there.  I think it is tidy, and so easy to access.


Part Three:  Counter Clutter
I keep my counters as bare as possible.  With the food, homework, dishes, etc. that end up on the counters everyday, I just don't like to add extra clutter in the form of lots of decorations, or too many appliances or anything.  And yet we still end up with that inevitable pile of stuff everyday.  You know the stuff, the merit badge applications, report cards, assignments, brochures, mail, catalogs, etc.  Well here's what I do.  First of all, I recycle all junk mail as soon as I take it out of the mailbox.  It never even makes it into the house.  This step has saved me a TON of work since I started doing it.  Catalogs I want to look at (Pottery Barn, Restoration Hardware, etc.) are the exception.  For those, I simply put them on the magazine shelf on my entry table until I can look at them.  Every few months I sort through the magazines, and toss the out of date catalogs.

Everything else, that I am not ready to deal with yet, or that I am not ready to throw away, gets put in a crate on the bakers rack.  And when it gets full, and starts to look like this........

I pull everything out and sort in on the counter.  I have a trash pile, save pile, file pile, and keep in the crate a little while longer pile.  It's amazing that after a few weeks, so much of the pile that I at first didn't know what to do with, becomes something I can easily throw in the trash.

And when it's all sorted and put away, the crate looks more like this.

I also keep some of my large serving pieces on the bakers rack.  And usually a plant in the basket on the top shelf.

I also usually keep my little beehive candy jars filled with seasonal, and holiday treats.  (They are empty now, because I couldn't stand to look at the Christmas candy another day)!

I think the baker's rack seems to consolidate the inevitable "stuff" we all have, and helps keep my counters and kitchen a little more clutter free.  I have also used a hutch in the kitchen before.  If you have the space, I highly recommend a separate piece of furniture to stash the day-to-day clutter.  It really does help keep your kitchen feeling more clean and tidy.

And that's it!  Organization tips from and for the unorganized.  I can't wait to do more January cleaning and organizing.  And I have GOT to get rid of all the Christmas decorations.

Speaking of Christmas decorations.  I know we are all sick of Christmas, but I wanted to let you know my Candyland Christmas door was featured on a fun online magazine, Front Porch Ideas and More, and you can see the feature here.

Happy New Year and Happy Organizing!

Spec Home House Tour

Exterior Of Home Before

The week before Christmas, we found out that the sale of our spec home had fallen through $%#@!!!   It also occurred to me that I had never given a whole tour of the spec home.  So here you go.

 

Exterior of Home Now

The kitchen before had VERY nice new cabinetry from a few years ago, but it also had mismatched appliances, a laminate countertop (in a clashing color), and Pergo floors.  (I am not a big fan of Pergo......sorry).   Also, super dated lighting and plumbing fixtures.

The kitchen received new paint, amazing brick pattern tile floors, stainless appliances, lighting, granite counters, cool industrial faucet, and a really pretty crackle finish subway tile backsplash.  Look how much better the cabinets look with the right color countertop!

 

Julie (My Mom) sewed the new hand towels to coordinate with the curtain fabric that became the color inspiration for the whole project.

Julie also sewed the curtains.  The cute green tabs were a solution to a shortage of curtain fabric.

(Not sure how I managed to do that, but the tabs fixed it).

The new flooring, and getting rid of the ugly vertical blinds made a HUGE difference in the amount of light in the room.  Also notice the giant pine tree from the before that is gone in the after.  It is one of MANY trees that fell in Davis County in the huge wind storm.

It is hard to get a good picture from inside the bathroom, but the stripe in here is one of my favorite parts of the whole house.  It has a slightly metallic sheen to it, and looks really great with the marble floors, and Ceasarstone Counters.

We put new bathtubs in, and white subway tile surrounds.  Here is another look at the striped wall.

Besides the obvious new carpet and paint, we also widened the entrance to the family room at the bottom of the stairs, and put in a new iron and wood topped railing (in the left of the photo).  We also got rid of the obnoxious low hanging light fixture at the bottom of the stairs. 

 

At one end of the family room in the basement was a wide storage room.  It took a lot of the light from the room, and seemed like a giant waste of space, so we tore it out.  The family room is big and bright and open now.

I have written about the laundry room changes before.  I love this room now!

I have also posted this fireplace before too.  I think it is one of the most dramatic changes.  I wish you could see it in person.  The wood work fireplace surround is so beautiful in real life.

If you live in Utah, this house is back up for sale!  The real estate listing can be found here.