Tag: room by room

Going room by room through a house is a lot of work. Mental, emotional, physical. My favorite activity is to declutter and organize the spaces around me. Just ask my husband!

I’ve always been pretty good about removing the fringe items, but never really took a deep dive. That is until this year! I’m am slowly going through ALL of my items (the kids’, too) and removing the things that I don’t use, wear, stay in storage, like…you get the picture.

So, what am I learning doing all of this? Well, lucky you, you’ve come to the right place! Eight months into this process and I’m just getting started…

1. Slow and steady wins the race.

There is NO possible way that I could declutter and minimize my chunk of stuff in this house in one days’ time. Even one months’ time. Let’s be honest, I probably could do some of it, but I’d likely get overwhelmed and burned out pretty fast. I’ve dedicated a month to each space. Bedroom, basement, kids’ rooms, kitchen/pantry. Then, once I hit the 4th room, I go back through all the rooms again with a fine tooth comb.

2. I want this to be a lifestyle change.

I’m going slow and steady for this very reason. I’m tired of cleaning up the same few things every week, month, etc only to have to redo it shortly down the line. I want to use up and enjoy what I have. I want to be able to focus on my family instead of cleaning up. I want to limit decision fatigue as possible in my life. Why make myself/my family choose between 40 options when having 2 or 3 is more helpful and leaves room for better things.

Less stuff = less to clean = more time to focus on the things we love

3. Being organized doesn’t mean much if you have too much inventory.

I am hands-down a Type-A person. Everything needs to have a place and that place needs to be named. Sounds simple, but I’m finding that the more I hold onto the less room I have for everything. The less room I have for things, the more I store items. Storing items isn’t my goal. Organization, at this point, is very difficult.

4. Simplifying needs to be scheduled.

If it’s not on the calendar, it is not happening. Even if I only schedule 5 minutes in the day, I know that I will get something done. When it’s on a calendar or to do list, there is no longer the excuse of being too busy.

In case you are wondering what 5 minutes can look like, here are some examples. For this example we will use the kitchen. Five minute tasks can be going through a single shelf in the fridge or freezer, choosing 1 drawer or cabinet, or removing everything off the island and into the proper room. Five minutes can make a world of a difference.

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Are you trying to simplify your life? What room is the hardest for you? Is your family on board or is it just you?

OH, MAN, talk about a doozy of a project! This took us 2 full days of going through and clearing out and 1 full day to put together shelving and arrange furniture. Because this was such a big project, I’ll be covering this area in two parts.

We started by moving everything to the sides. We’ve been in this house for 2.5 years, but these boxes have traveled with us from Army post to Army post…The back wall of boxes had not been opened in 7 years. SEVEN! We had boxes of scrap paper and mail from when we lived in Texas.

Like we did with the master bedroom, we sorted into our 3 main piles. Toss. Sell/Donate. Keep. We added an additional pile for papers that needed to be gone through. This pile would be anything from medical documents, diplomas, contracts, manuals, etc.

We decided, before getting started, to buy a Dumpster Bag from our trash company. We had old furniture and TONS of trash that I didn’t want to slowly throw away with our regular trash. This was HANDS DOWN the best decision we made!

We started going box by box . As our piles got larger, we would move the trash to the Dumpster Bag in the garage. At one point, our piles were ALL over the floor. You couldn’t easily get from one side to the other until we were about a third of the way through the boxes.

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Now, I can’t talk about our “after”, yet. We have gone through every box and know what is where, but needed to re-box the majority until we could get some organizational items down here. Like I’ve said, it’s a process! Our next, “project” for the basement is finalizing shelving units, re-box items into clear bins, and creating storage, an office, and a little guest area. For us, for now, we need this area functional and simple. Comfortable, too!

Once we finish the basement, I will hop back on here and share our after photos! In the meantime, if you have any suggestions when it comes to organization, function, or comfort–leave them in the comments!

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Unlike the master bedroom clean-out, the boys’ bedrooms are MUCH simpler. I know it won’t stay like this forever, but (for both rooms) I spend no more than 30 minutes.

These 2 spaces have been the one area of the house where I am consistent. The only toys upstairs are in Michael’s room, in a single chest. Their books are put away once daily (usually at bedtime). The clothing is sorted and dispersed every quarter, instead of seasonally. This goes for both the dressers and closets.

Cleanup is super easy and Michael is even starting to truly help me every day.

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Since this is such a short post, I thought I’d share a few tips that have helped me maintain the bedrooms, especially during those early baby days.

First, I keep 2 bins/buckets in the closet. The closet with the easiest access is for all the clothes they outgrow. The lid is never on, and I only throw clean clothing in the bin. I don’t bother folding anything at this point. The bin that is farther away always has a lid on it and is one size up from their current size.

Second, when hanging clothes, I always hang left to right. Things on the left are items that fit him and should be worn first. Depending on the seasons and current size, this section will fluctuate in size (amount of items). The farthest items to the right are the largest size and usually smallest amount!

Third, we don’t keep a bunch of toys in his room. Right now, the philosophy we follow is that the bedrooms are for limited (if any) play, reading, and sleeping. (I’m sure that’ll change as the boys get older, but for right now, it’s working for us.)

Do you have any tips, tricks, or questions? If so, leave them in the comments below! If you want a more in depth look at their rooms, head on over to Instagram and look in the highlights tab (on my profile) for “Room by Room”.

Next up, is the basement! Keep in mind still had things in boxes that we hadn’t seen in 7+ years…

I asked, you answered…here it is! I haven’t done a Room By Room post in quite a while! In fact, my last Room By Room post was about the Nursery back in SEPTEMBER! Yikes, that was far too long ago!

Anyway, as the title shows, we are talking ALL about our entryway and entry nook area. This has, by far, been the hardest room to decorate and maintain functionality. Not only is this area our welcome center into our home, it also doubles as my little office space. It can, and does, get overrun with papers, baby gear, shoes, coats, and more!

All that said, this room will always be a work in progress. Our needs for this area will always change as kids get added to the family, as we all get a little older, as we entertain more (or less). There are so many factors.

Foyer

Currently, our foyer is only used to welcome guests, which allows us to keep this area pretty clean and simple. Even though it is a tight space, I still wanted this area to feel homey and inviting. I truly believe first impressions are everything.

In the little corner of our foyer I’ve set up what I call my seasonal station! Everything in this area is easily changeable. The signs get swapped out every season and for every major holiday. It sounds expensive, yes, but it’s NOT!

I get all the decor after the season ends and the stores deeply discount it. Each season/holiday has cost me, at most, $10. The key here is patience! The first 2 years may look sparse to you, but if you wait for the good sales, a coupon, or maybe even a hand-me-down you can achieve a nicely decorated space, inexpensively! Bonus points if some of your pieces can work for multiple seasons/year round!

For reference, it has taken me about 5 years (and counting) to gather all of the pieces.

Nook

Ahh, this nook. This is my little office space and love it! It can be tricky keeping it functional, but pretty. The best way, I’ve kept it pretty (and tied into the rest of the room) is by putting a few decor pieces on the wall.

My only requirement that I had for what went on the wall was that every piece be a natural wood tone. This way, it can easily tie into the rest of the space without me having to worry about or over think what was being placed.

Again, this area has taken me time, was gathered inexpensively, and is still a work in PROGRESS! The wall hangings were all under $10 each. If I did my math right, the entire wall cost about $15.

Then there is the actual working space. This is a trouble spot for me. I use this desk to write, pay bills, plan, manage our life. Trying to keep the clutter to a minimum is highly important and an incredible challenge!

If you have any ideas or tips leave them in the comments below!

My plan is to get a filing cabinet for the basement. This will remove A LOT of the paper work that gets trapped in this area. Once that is done, I can repurpose the folder holder and computer stand to hold the stuff I actually use. I’m also thinking of getting a little self to display notebooks and planners.

Gallery Wall

These frames, and a lot of these photos, have lived in many houses! Less than half of them have lived in 4 houses, which means they’ve miraculously survived Army moves. If you are curious what our gallery wall looked like at our last house, click here!

Let’s get this out of the way! All the frames have come from either Target or Bed, Bath, and Beyond. The decor pieces have come from several different clearance locations. Target, Amazon, Hobby Lobby, and even a garage sale. Because styles change so quickly, I am not willing to invest in these pieces.

Placement and Decisions

The most important part of setting up a gallery wall is to measure out the area you are using and then mark it on the floor. Know where your mid-point is and be willing to leave it and come back to it. When I did my first gallery wall in Texas, the frames stayed on the floor for an entire 3 day weekend, so that we could change things with ease!

Once our placement was decided, we started hanging. In the beginning, we left space to add more photos. Yeah, it looked a little funny for a couple of months, but I didn’t want to completely have to redo the entire wall any time we added another frame or decor item.

Tricks and Tips

Three tricks I’ve learned, over the last 5+ years, are to buy an equal number of frames and/or decor pieces, to hang the frames you plan to use (even without the photo), and know when to stop.

What I mean by an equal number of frames or decor pieces, is this. If you are slowly adding to your wall and you’re ready to add a frame, add two. It will balance you wall. You could add one frame and one decor piece or 2 frames and 1 decor piece. Look at the size of the bigger item and balance it out.

Secondly, if you’re wanting to add 5 frames, but only have 2 photos, add the photo-less frames to your wall. While you may notice the stock photo at every glance, your guests may not. To their eyes, the gallery wall is filled. In doing this, you can also see the photo sizes you need instead of guessing which makes your life easier!

Lastly, know when to stop. This will look different for everyone, but knowing when to stop adding pieces is important. If you’re nervous about the wall not looking fresh, remember you will change out the photos in the frames. Maybe dedicate 4 frames that get new photos every season and one frame that highlights the family every year. If you want to change out your decor pieces, take it off the wall and bring it to the store so you can compare it to new items. Or take measurements and go scour different places for new pieces.

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I’m not kidding when I tell you that this takes time and some (though not a lot of ) money. We’ve been in this house for 15 months and are just now finalizing decor pieces. Oh, that gallery wall? We’ve been working on that and collecting pieces for it since we got married. In 2013!

If you have any thoughts on how we might be able to better utilize space in the entry, leave it in the comments below!

Let me start by saying that not everyone’s organizational methods will work for all. We all have different lives, needs, and habits that need to be considered. With that being said, this is what we are starting with and sharing what I’m doing/have learned is what this space is all about!

Before we get started here are some things to note!

You’ll notice that some areas are empty and that we may not have as much in the way of clothing, compared to others. We are leaving the empty spaces, so that as he ages and his needs change we have some options for keeping things tidy.

As for the clothing, we have the basics and know that we may need to (and are planning on having to) buy more clothing once he’s here. We are going back and forth about purchasing clothing because babies don’t keep and grow quickly. Our thought? The less stuff he has, the more chances he’ll have to wear his clothes.

Lastly, if you’re interested in seeing the nursery, I posted the tour over the weekend! Needless to say, we are OBSESSED

Dresser

The dresser, as the picture shows, has 8 drawers that are surprisingly deep. Right now, we have 4 main uses for this dresser. A changing station, changing storage, multi-age clothing storage, and then general storage (bedding, accessories, etc.)

The changing station is, quite clearly, on the top of the dresser and consists of the changing pad, some diapering needs, and 2 “accessories”. The accessories are the white noise machine and a small indoor indoor thermometer. We currently have a basket that is housing all the newborn clothes/pajamas we have. It’s a small stash because I highly doubt he’ll fit into them for very long, if at all, and it doesn’t need a dedicated drawer.

The two top left-hand small drawers house the current diaper size (right now it is a mix of newborn and size 1) and diapering/health needs (creams, wipes, over the counter medications, pacifiers, etc.).

The two right-hand small drawers are housing all his pajamas from 0-6 months and swaddling/light-weight blankets. Having these top drawers separated in this manner will allow for easy access (especially at night) and will keep it the crazy contained (when it eventually gets messier).

I also have a feeling that when we are in his room, these are the things I will tend to be reaching for regularly, so why not have them at the top, close by?!

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The next row of drawers holds all of his non-hanging clothes. The left hand drawer holds everything from 0-3 and 3 months–pants, long and short sleeve onesies, socks, and so on.

The right hand drawer has everything from above 3 months through 24 months. The 3-6 months clothing has been separated from the overall pile for easier access.

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Eventually, I want to get dividers into the drawers and move on to a no fold system. This will cut down on laundry time for me! Also, who on Earth has time to fold itty-bitty baby shirts, in addition to adult clothing. 

The last row of drawers is divided into bedding and burp cloths. The left hand side holds all the extra sheets for the crib, pack and play, and bassinet, and the heavier blankets. On the right hand side, we have all of his receiving blankets and burp cloths.

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Closet

On the top shelf we have all of the boxed items that we do not currently need. This is everything from toys to baby gear.

The left hand side, we have all of the clothes that need to be hung up. Sweaters, winter gear, and nicer onesies. When you move from left to right, you increase in clothing size. Below the clothing is a tub holding all of the diaper bag gear. As he gets older, this tub will hold all of the clothing he’s outgrown.

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On the right hand side of the closet, is all of the baby gear, the mobile we still need to hang, and extra hangers. Pretty simple!

On the right hand side of the floor, is our extra diaper and wipe storage. We were BLESSED with getting so many diapers of varying sizes. Everything from newborn to size 2 and wipes galore!

The closet is simple, but I can easily see everything we have and will know what is needed with just a quick peak!

Bookcase

The bookcase, of course, holds his books. On the top shelf are decorative items. A piggy bank, the coordinating season’s book, his name plate, and a pair of shoes. These are items we want displayed, but don’t want him (or the dogs to have access to).

To the bottom shelf, we’ve added a of storage basket to the bottom shelf to hold  toys, stuffed animals…things we don’t mind him getting into when he’s older.

Side Table

The side table is going to be pretty simple. It is very small and is only meant to be of help while we are feeding/rocking him. The basket underneath holds nursing/feeding aids for me (or whoever ends up feeding him). Everything from nursing pads and burp cloths to snacks and a charging cable for a phone.

The little light is for those late night feedings, so I can get situated and settled in his room, without blinding him.

Basket Organization

Finally, the empty baskets around his room are awaiting a purpose. Any time I organize, I like to leave blank space and empty storage so that has life happens things can organically have a place and stay tidy.

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I have picked up 2 different style baskets and highly recommend snagging these. I waited until they went on sale to grab them at 20% off. They are 2 different sizes, easily collapsible and larger than I was expecting.

Hedgehog (square) | Snake (square) | Raccoon (round) | Fox (round)

Key Take-Aways

1. Keep it simple! Don’t make it so complicated that you’ll forget where things are or go. If you can quickly explain to someone where an object is, you’ve organized with purpose.
2. Think through what you use the most. These items go in an area with easy access. I call these areas my “grab and go” section.
3. Leave empty space! I do this with everything I organize. Leaving the empty space allows for organic tidying and organization. As you live in the space, you’ll notice that you may have forgotten about a category of items or you’ll bring in different items. This empty space looks clean, when it is and is not in use.
4. Don’t be afraid to change things. If a system or an area isn’t working for you, change it until it does! Don’t stick with something just because it makes sense for someone else–make it make sense for YOU

Let me know how you organized your kid’s space! Have you found a system that works for you or are you tweaking systems until it fits your lifestyle?!