Organization Station.

I've become much less motivated to update my blog as the brunt of the manual labor around here seems to have fallen on my shoulders. For the past 13 weeks, people have been here around the clock slaving over my hopes and dreams. Yet, for the past week, I've been working like a dog to get this place organized, cleared out of unnecessary items and cleaned. It seems with every room I tackle, the mess keeps getting larger and larger. With the kids flocking around me all day, I've had absolutely no rhyme or reason to my plan of attack...just do what I can whenever I get a moment.

In related news, I'm exhausted. Hauling boxes, sorting through lumber piles, unpacking everything in sight...eyeyeye. By the time we get the kids in bed and have a few uninterrupted hours to accomplish something, I'm too tired to do anything (but of course, I do anyway or nothing would ever get done!)


Now that I've whined for a good few hundred characters, let me get to what I actually HAVE accomplished. Anyone who knows me well knows I am an organizational FREAK. Nothing comes into my home without given an assigned spot for it to rest, be played with and returned to. Therefore, having been out of our house off and on for the past 4 months, combined with the fact that we never fully unpacked when we moved here with the intention of remodeling in the near future means unpacking has been a bear.



BUT, I am VERY pleased to say that most everything is completely unpacked and given a spot hidden from the naked eye (I'm a fan of keeping every and all surfaces CLEAR of clutter) and I STILL have cabinet room to spare. SCORE. This was so not the case pre-remodel and I left many belongings packed until I could actually find a spot for them. Speaking of spots, how cute are these floppy little totes I found at The Containter Store? Perfect for frequently used toys and easy to store in smaller spaces:


In addition to unpacking, I've been going through everything as I find a place for it. I have a pretty nice sized garage sale put together that I'm planning to host this Friday/Saturday.

I'm selling some really nice, brand-name pieces...many from Crate & Barrel or the like. It's not that I don't like them, it's that I don't use them and I'm tired of holding on to things that I don't put to use. I figure I'm better off getting a few bucks for them, sending them home with someone that will appreciate them and reinvesting in something we actually need (ahem, a COUCH!) So, getting those yard sale items out of the garage will free up on a ton of space in there as well. Win, win. We spent a good chunk of last weekend getting the garage cleaned out of all leftover building materials and trash.

It may not look like it, but we've come A LONG way!


Over the past week, Jeff and I have really been talking on and on about what our plan is for the basement. At this point, it's the only untouched area in our home and frankly, it shows. While I would pinpoint the condition of the basement as 'finished' and 'original' and 'scary', it really is space that we should take advantage of.

We have plans drawn up for a full overhaul of the basement - adding a large bathroom, finishing off the laundry room and storage room, enclosing the mechanicals of the house and creating a petite but pleasant family room (drywall, recessed lighting, carpet, a built in or two)...we really feel like now is the time for us to stop putting money in this house. While we absolutely love the changes we've made and definitely see ourselves calling this place home for a while, we don't see ourselves here long term and want to retain our selling power should we up and decide it's time. A basement remodel would be a considerable investment and one that would hopefully prove to be beneficial in the long term. But there are no guarantees of that, especially if we planned to move in the next 10 years. So with all of that considered (and discussed on far too many occasions), we have decided to give the basement a tiny little facelift (more like a botox treatment) immediately. In fact, we are hoping to have it done while we are out of town next week. Here's what it will include:

- 2 generous coats of paint over the knotty pine paneling
- A few updated trim pieces to finish off a few exposed edges here and there
- 2 new ceiling mounted light fixtures
- New carpet

Whether or not we did a full overhaul of the basement or not, we have always intended for it to be a playroom for the kids. We will keep all the existing cabinets/closets/shelving that is built out already and give them a little pizaaz with a burst of color here and there. I am SO excited about this little refresher. Without it, the basement is pretty much unusable for us (read: scary). I wouldn't find myself down there 'playing' with it as is...I hardly doubt my two year old would feel differently. It will be great to have this ready before winter so the girls have a place to play during the endless months of hibernation.

Stay tuned for more news on the address numbers later today! It's my favorite time of year, PEONY season! Is anything more beautiful paired with white Carrera marble and a mini-pendant chandelier: