Hard work and Perseverance

Hard work and perseverance really does pay off!

 I had this vision of what I wanted for our en-suite bathroom. I wanted to incorporate feelings of relaxation in the space, yet have a fun and energetic vibe happening at the same time. Finding the right color for the walls to make the space feel large and open. The previous owners had a dark dusty purple color on the walls and dark brown (the oiled bronze look) bathroom fixtures which soaked up all of the light and made the room feel small and drab. Sometimes people have an idea of what they want for a space but don't know how to make it all come together. Whatever the previous owners were trying to do (and I'm not condemning them), it looked more haphazard and thrown together. I know that I see things differently, that I can look at a room and be able to transform the entire space in my mind; Changing it all together into something new and completely different as if I was waving a magic wand. Being able to pull colors, textures and patterns together out of the air is something that most people have great difficulty accomplishing and they usually end up throwing in the proverbial towel. Now for me, it's been something I can just "do". I've always felt a little frustrated that others can't see what I see, until I learned that most people are blind to change. But I digress...

Our en-suite bathroom is now being transformed into a tropical paradise.My inspiration comes from a trip we took to Hawaii a few years ago. The experience left me with ideas for a future project.  I wanted a room full of energy yet one that gives you that take your shoes off and stay a while feel. I'll take you through the process with a photo spread detailing what was done once I finish my sewing and take pictures of the "almost" finished space. I'm still deciding on some artwork (actually I have it all in my mind what I want- you all know how that goes). I'm on the lookout for a cabinet to go above the toilet for storage space. What I like about the master bathroom is that the toilet is in a separate little room with a door. Now we'll be closing off the bathroom adding a small wall and doors. Currently it's a open space concept bathroom minus the little room for the toilet. We're going to be working on that very soon- look for pictures and even patterns in the very near future!     

Spring Cleaning wih a twist

It's in the air...Spring. Sure, the weather might be unpredictable, right now it looks like it could start raining any minute but that won't stop me from my latest project. Now what action or should I say annual event do we associate with Spring? It's Spring Cleaning of course!
My thoughts are with reorganizing my kitchen. The cupboards and pantry were in dire need of some serious help. As it is with any kitchen, things get stored in a certain order and then over time things fall out of order. Every kitchen needs to be gone over every few weeks, mine is no exception.

 I took everything out of my 2 pantry areas, my appliance garage and even the storage cabinets that I need to stand on a chair to see into. Now that I've rearranged everything I seem to have even MORE space then I did before :) Life is Good! 

Following a routine

Have you heard the Phrase "A Clean Home is a Happy Home"? This saying can be applied to any room of your house be it the kitchen, the dreaded "kids bathroom", your crafting room/space or your living room.

I've always been one to organize things- everything in it's place and a place for everything (it's a common phrase I say at home). I never had a problem with becoming overwhelmed with house keeping things until our move from Texas to Virginia. The move was terrible, the packers did the worst job in recorded history on packing all of our items -that is until the movers from South Dakota to England but that's another story. My husband couldn't take time off to help me with the unpacking and organizing of the house I was left on my own to complete the task. The boxes weren't labeled correctly so I was unable to locate items that I needed- such as the iron -which I found a few days after I really needed it in a box full of Lego's and a bucket of red Texas dirt -no joke. I promptly tossed the old one and went out and bought a new iron. But the real catch here is that the people who packed up our belonging mislabeled just about every single box they packed which left me surrounded in utter chaos. I had things strung out of every single box- which became very overwhelming. A friend recommended The FlyLady and I've taken her concepts to heart and have added a few of my own along the way.

I loved how The FlyLady broke it down in simple easy to do steps. I remember reading a quote from her "your home didn't get this way overnight and it won't get clean in a day". But for me and the cross country move it had gotten this way overnight. With her insight I was able to pace myself and not let myself feel overwhelmed. I've recommended her website to dozens of military spouses over the years. She's helped me get through every military move since 2000. By having check lists and pacing myself, I've gotten through our military moves. With another big move in my future, I know that the FlyLady will help me to stay focused.

Make a routine for yourself and follow it. If you don't know where to start then check out the flylady's baby steps page, it's got some great information on how to get yourself back on track. I can spend 15 minutes or less in any room of my house and have it be what I like to call 'company ready'. Keeping the bathrooms clean has been a snap since our son left home for college ;-) Oh yeah, it's obvious who the little piggy was in this house. Any room that boy of ours walked into was left in total chaos. But I digress...Make a routine and follow it, it's as easy as that. Maybe (and it's only a suggestion) it would help if you got others in the house to follow a routine and to pick up after themselves as well. I never could get that boy of ours to conform, I have happiness in knowing that he's changed- now that he has a girlfriend ;-)

Purge items from your home regularly!

Being stationed here in England has made this easy for me and it's all because there are more charitable organizations out here than one can shake a stick at! All of which have "charity shops" that generate money for their cause. Okay the other part is that at any given week I get a bag shoved through my mail slot from one of the many different fore mentioned charitable organizations looking for donations ...not for money like back in the states, but GOODS!!! Talk about making this easy for me! American Charities could use to learn a thing or two about this kind of funding raising. I can take the bag and fill it, leave it on my door step and poof! There goes the clutter of unused items from my house! FREE Pick up of my unwanted goods (another things American charitable organizations could taken note of, and gas is more than double the cost here than it is back in the states). This week it was 2 bags of clothing and shoes. Next week who knows what it could be. I have integrated this into my reduce, reuse, recycle program/habit. I will miss these British charities when we move back to the states and the weekly pick ups. Hence I will have to re-establish a new routine for donating unwanted/unused items. But until then I shall purge as I go through each room and set it aside for the next charity bag that comes through the mail slot!