Summer Living: Bringing a Little Costal Flair to the MIdwest

I updated our living room for the summer. I found some new beachy throw pillows for the couch (at Target) and I finally got around to using some of the shells we collected in Florida. They weren't very nice to look at when I started. The shells looked like they had a foggy film on them and had lost their luster. It took some fine grin sandpaper to smooth out the surface of the shells and then polished them with a little mineral oil. I "borrowed" some sand from L's sand box and placed it in the bottom of these fun containers I purchased at Michaels for 60% off. I really like how changing out just a few little details in a room can bring about such a transformation.  Now I'm enjoying the warm weather and pretty costal décor from the Midwest. ♡

My KonMari Journey: How One Little Book Helped Change the Way I Looked at My Stuff in a Big Way

Beautifully folded tees make it quick to choose a top.

I've spent countless hours chasing my tail when it comes to organizing my home. Once one area has been "organized", another area needs attention, and then another, and it is soon time to start all over again. It is a vicious cycle full of bins, storage tubs, and pretty patterned boxes. I only need to find the right container or storage system and my home will be put in order and I can finally rest. This was my mindset. This was my mantra.

By tucking items away out of sight, things may seem clutter free and in order for a bit, but clutter has a way of escaping those pretty patterned boxes and perfectly sized baskets. Soon, I'm face to face with the Clutter Monster and he's gaining ground. He'll take over my home room by room, unless I fight the battle daily. It's disheartening. It's exhausting. It's depressing. My home is no longer a sanctuary. It is a prison. I'm being controlled by my possessions and I am tired of fighting a loosing battle.

I'm not sure how I stumbled on the KonMari method. I suppose it came across my news feed from one of the many organizing groups to which I subscribe. The name intrigued me. It seemed foreign and magical. Upon further searching, I discovered the KonMari method was created by a petite Japanese woman by the name of Marie Kondo and in fact, her best selling book is titled, "The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing ." In a matter of moments, I had placed the book in my online shopping cart and it was soon in my hands. Though small in size (5.2 inches by 7.3 inches) and length (a little over 200 pages), Kondo's book is big on Joy. In fact, the heart of the KonMari method is to declutter and discard all items in your home that do not "spark joy."

To determine if your items meet this joy sparking criteria, you must sort through each category of items in your home in a specific order. Every item must be held in your hands and you must ask yourself, "Does this item bring me joy?" If it brings a smile to your heart and you feel warm fuzzies inside, then the item makes the cut. If not, then the item is promptly thanked for its service and discarded. Kondo believes that every item holds energy and by thanking an item for the role it has played in your life, you are releasing that energy to reenter your life in another form at another time.
As Kondo suggests, I began my KonMari journey by tackling my clothing. I soon found that while the KonMari method is simple, it is not easy.

My closet is now neat and orderly. I can find things at a glance and I no longer feel overwhelmed when choosing an outfit. 

Clearing out items has always been a struggle for me. If I thought I may need something someday, or if something was still good , I believed it was worth keeping. Since I started clearing things out using the KonMari method, I feel so much lighter and I've noticed the more items I sort and properly store, the more time I seem to get back in my day. Once items in a category pass the "Joy Test," the items are promptly put away. They need no additional attention. Prior to beginning the KonMari process, I was spending time trying to maintain and organize items that didn't really matter. I have completed the clothing category and am now ready to move on to the next category, books. The tail chasing has ceased, at least as far as my wardrobe is concerned, and I couldn't be happier with my progress.

Eleven bags of items were thanked for their service and discarded. The nicest items were pulled out for consignment and/or sale and the others were donated to charity .

Playroom Tour!

Anyone who knows my child, knows he has way too many toys. This is the product of being both an only child and an only grandchild on my side of the family. I strive to keep an orderly home, but with baskets of toys spilling out into our living room, it was nearly impossible. Thankfully, we had room to grow and I was able to utilize some space in our basement to create the perfect playroom.

 

The best part about this project is that it didn't break the bank. I reused some tall bookcases that we've had forever, making sure to anchor them to the wall so they can't be pulled over by little hands. I believe I originally purchased them at a Walmart, years ago. They have adjustable shelves so I was able to modify the shelving to fit everything.

 

 

In addition to housing my little one's ever-growing toy collection, I was able to place all of our family games on the upper shelves which opened up some space in our hall closet. My mom found these utility bins by Martha Stewart on clearance at Kmart and they were the perfect color. I love when I can use baskets or bins to hide things away. I plan on making a cute tag label for each bin, but haven't gotten around to it yet. The second shelf down from the top holds bins containing painting supplies, Play-doh, and a few more games. I like that this shelf is out of reach for little hands.

 

 The bottom three shelves house toys that can be easily accessed. The bins are packed with like items. For example, one bin has Viewmaster viewers and reels, one has puzzles, one has busy books and grab and go activities for the car, one is full of Fisher Price Little People, and one is home to Mickey Mouse and Friends figures.

Next to the bookshelf, is a handy easel that I purchased at Ikea with a roll of butcher paper attached. We move it outside to finger paint, but keep it inside to use with chalk, water colors, markers and crayons. I love the little paint containers from Melissa and Doug that control how much paint can be put on brushes and they fit perfectly in the easel tray.

 Next to the easel, I placed a chunky legged table from Ikea with matching stools. I works great working on arts and crafts or playing board games. While shopping at Ikea, I also added this giant canopy leaf. I didn't have a real plan for it at the time, but the color matched and it found a place in the corner of the room. To brighten up the space and help set it off from the rest of the room, I used two colorful floor rugs also from Ikea. I had these from my days teaching elementary school and am SO glad I didn't leave them behind for my replacement. They are super durable and fun to boot. I mounted a magnetic white board on the wall at child height so we can work with magnetic letters and shapes. Later, we'll break out the dry erase markers, but he isn't quite there yet.

 Crayons, markers, chalk, colored pencils, Play-doh, and all things crafty that I don't necessarily want my little guy to have unlimited access to are stored in this handy wall-mounted storage shelf. Coloring and activity books are stored in magazine holders on to of and next to the piano. The festive Mickey Mouse and Friends "London" letters were created for my guy's second birthday and they found a home above the storage shelf and add some additional color to the room. I also keep a CD player handy in this space and lots of kid friendly music and read-aloud story book CDs in this area too.

I hope you enjoyed your tour of our Playroom!