It wasn’t horrible, terrible, no good. But it really needed a good declutter and cleaning. Feels so much better now! And since I have a new space for my computer, I was able to put the kitchen island back, which makes me oh so happy!

I put everything away, cleaned out cabinets and drawers and left only what we use, need, or find beautiful in the space. Refeshing!

I think my 3 year old eating popcorn at the island is just about the cutest accessory there ever was

For more on getting organized: Getting Organized: Closets

Thank you so much for the encouragement and advice last week when my head was about to explode over the chaos. I did make lists, and I tackled at least one project in every room. The biggest thing was that I was have trouble unpacking from our trip because closets were a mess.

My list was this:

• Do laundry. I washed everything, folded and had ready to put away. I hate when I think everything is organized in drawers and closets only to find that once I finish laundry, there isn’t room for everything.
• Try everything on. I did mine and both my kids clothes. If it didn’t fit or wasn’t something we loved, it went in the bag to goodwill.
• Once everything was sorted, cleaned and in the keep pile, I put things away.

Here is the mess I was starting with in my room (please don’t hate me for my messes):

While I worked on organizing clothes, hubby worked on trim. That doorway is brand new (more details on that another day) and he ran out of trim before he was done – story of our remodel!) and needed finishing badly.

The stash of bags behind the door were all either donated or given to friends who could use them. They were taking up space and not being used by us. The laundry baskets speak for themselves.

I didn’t tidy anything for the befere pics. This is what I was starting with.

And now…

In the middle of the project, I stopped to make a new ottoman slipcover because my old one just was not working for me at all. Maybe someday when I am old and we aren’t remodeling and don’t have dogs and kids in the house I can have a white slipcover. Not now. So, I made a new one. And put up a big mirror in the closet that has been waiting for a home since we moved 4 years ago. I have never had space for it until now. For the first time in 4 years, I can see myself when I get dressed. This may change my life!

I did my daughter’s closet too. It was a mess!

And now:

I have so much more to share about what we’ve been working on to get organized over the past few days. We got beds moved, rooms set up, light fixtures hung, walls worked on, toys organized, kitchen put back together again. More on the other stuff tomorrow. For now, I am feeling good about having the closets much more tolerable.

Can I complain?

My house is a mess. A summer away means I came home to lots of dust. And laundry. On top of that, right before we left we did the huge project of building out our master bedroom. We moved our stuff into the new room, my daughter moved out of her room into our old room, and her old room is being turned into an office/guest room. Are you confused yet and want to take a nap? Or hide? Because I do. Every room is apart. There is a chandelier sitting in my eating area waiting to be hung. I am trying to find space for everything. You would think this would be easier now that we have more room, but it seems to have just spread the problem. To make matters worse, a truckload of STUFF arrived today from my father-in-law’s house. Stuff I don’t have room for or need. I want to cry.

So! What do you say? Anyone want to help me get organized and back on track? Because I need some moral support. I’ll keep you posted with pictures as I put it all together. Because we have guests coming next week. There is no time like the present.