Steps to Organized…Company Coffee 7.17.09

Welcome Company Coffee Girls! Today you get a short tour of the new project I began last night to improve my “ease” at home…Coffee is in the kitchen, grab a cup and follow me through to the project!!

I believe that I have one natural talent that is perhaps my strongest. I think my vision issues include a sort of blindness that involves simply not seeing the mess I am making or ignoring until its taken over a space!!!! Creative…oh yes I am as creative as the day is long, I am also just apt to come up with an idea and follow it through to completion of a new product, masterpiece, or design, however that means sometimes the challenge is making sure routines and daily schedules are followed! I am extremely detailed in art projects, in organizing marketing campaigns, but the order of one master bedroom simply is a challenge at times. I would like to think its because I grew up in an antebellum home without closets or drawered dressers, but the truth is, that was over 30 years ago and if I had wanted to learn organization by now I would have….and I have decided this is the year for my home to reflect the ease I feel helping others in friendships, my business relationships and educational consulting.

Step one.

We moved into a home in another state a year ago now (while DH was in Kuwait no less) and we chose to leave over 50% of our clutter behind. The thing is we needed to leave another 50% out after moving in to a 1/2 the size of the last home before, but we’re getting that accomplished a little more each 3nd weekend of the month…yes, we’ve declared it “one step towards peace in our home” Fridays.

Step Two

Buy, rearrange, or borrow appropriate space containers. Most of my furniture has come from careful observation of yard sales, side of the road get rid ofs, and a few friends who didn’t want this or that later on…. Recently my cousin John Stott drove up a bedroom suit to me from Tallahassee. It matched one that my late mother had had, was of the era of my Grandmother Geddie, and John was kind enough to bring it to Birmingham to bring it to me. At first I wasn’t sure it would work, the drawers were not deep (old stuffers definition of what a “good dresser” would do) But as we thought about it, the additional drawers (9) would allow a couple of items each and suddenly my clothing items would have a home. My lacy things would have a beautiful home and I would know exactly where to find them…..no more scrambling for things when that rare moment arrives when the children are gone or finally asleep!!!

Step Three

Use Nester’s guides to It doesn’t have to be perfect to be beautiful…and hang up the things I already owned to make it work around it. In my heart of hearts, this set will be painted black and hand rubbed like the set Dh did for me last year that now is owned by Miss Madison in her room. It turns out that when you have a bunny named Huckle Berry, you need furniture to match…Madison has always been naturally organized, so obviously its not environment, perhaps a throwback to another generation???

Step Four

Move the clothes into the drawers….WOW…who knew that surfaces didn’t have to hold clean or dirty clothes! Dh was SO delighted to find he had 4 drawers of his own in the large dresser and a place to store his holy hunting clothes in the chest on chest bottom drawers. With a few hangers in hand, that which didn’t fold to be put away was hung up and suddenly my former storage place we happened to sleep because a tranquil, beautiful room!!!!

Who knew!!!!

Step Five….details to come….

Creating a romantic evening for date night today…dessert and a movie at home….candlelight, clean room, and well, prolly one of those drawers of lacy items won’t be in its drawer tonight! After all, marriage should be an intentionally wonderful thing, and I am intent upon surprising my handsome husband tonight! We have candles that have never been lite from years of buying what looks nice, but has no use except for special dinners at Christmas and Easter…that’s a new rule…no longer will we wait to celebrate, experience, or create special times for our own family as well as our extended families….life is too precious and if you’re not careful you wake up and your baby turned 13 or 30 without you stopping to enjoy them. I have promised myself to be more intentional about not wasting God’s blessings of family!!!

hugs!!!!

P.S. And I am going on a hot date with my three little men from down the street to the water park this morning at Wilson Park…..because some days you just gotta enjoy life! While there is definately work to be accomplished in business today, an hour or two of refreshed times will definately help this tired Mom re energize for the tasks later!

P.S.S. The Master bdr furniture is one part antique given to me and 4 parts pieces that match found on ebay in Tallahassee FL for $300.00 total, stored by my cousin for a year, then hauled home in a pickup. The black bedroom set was a $75 find in a yard sale refinished with paint later….the comforter a JCP outlet find for $19.99, the curtains for $1 yard tea stained black and white to black and ivory fabric at Walmart ($12) The tassells and pillows made from scraps. to make the room mine, the rabbit a present from my 13 year old daughter for Mother’s day. The bed itself and its mattresses, a free one new from Sams given by a couple who’s mom didn’t come to live with them, the wood part of the bed, part of a $15 find. God provides!