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Uncategorized | March 11, 2014

Little changes

Isn’t it funny how EVERYTHING changes after you are a mother? The way we live in and enjoy our home has drastically changed thanks to Hudson. I’ve spent a lot of time making lists of things I would want in my ideal home….a home that I’m sure doesn’t even exist. This week I decided to toss that list away and instead focus on little changes that can help us enjoy our home more as it is. I discovered that a lot of free and inexpensive things could really make a big difference! In this post I challenged myself to organize a different room or area in our house each month:

January: Kitchen and pantry
February: Laundry room and mud room
March: Master bathroom and hallway closet
April: Master closet
May: Upstairs and downstairs closets
June: Guest room
July: Guest bathroom
August: 2nd guest room
September: Family room
October: Hudson’s room
In
January I did great and organized our kitchen and pantry…..but I
slacked big time in February thanks to having a million different things
going on. So last night I tackled the “mud room” which isn’t even a
room…it’s more of a nook. Ideally, we would like to move our laundry
room in to the basement….and turn the existing laundry room into a mud
room and pantry.

 

 

Here is the nook before with our laundry room to the right…except picture that bench covered with our cat’s food bowls, Hudson’s coat, and a cat scratcher. I moved those things out of the way before I realized I might want to take pictures #bloggerfail. Our cats, Henry and Sophie, were eating on top of the bench so that Wrigley and Hudson couldn’t reach their food….but unfortunately both boys can totally reach their food now. And it’s no fun. So I relocated the cat food to the basement….which means we can actually use this bench for storage again!

 And look at all the junk I found inside.
 Who knew I had tons of paper towels, napkins, 5 boxes of large freezer bags, 2 cling wraps, and 4 aluminum foils??? Guess I don’t need to go shopping for the next year!
Not pictured: LOTS of booze. Margaritas at our house this weekend!
 I moved all of our winter boots in to the bench. They are too big to fit in our shoe organizer and have just been hanging out by the back door…..and driving me crazy. 
And we all know what happens when boots are left within reach.
So now our boots have  a home! The next step, hopefully this weekend, is to add a shelf and three baskets to the top for more storage. I plan to put our seasonal items (right now hats and gloves) in the baskets. That will free up some space in our coat closet. Yay!
Hopefully I can organize our laundry room this weekend too! We need a shorter connecter so that we can move the washer back further against the wall…anyone done this before?
P.S. the Lucky Link up pairs are posted on Erinn’s blog today! Check it out here.



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Comments

  1. Shayna @ The Fancy Yancey says

    March 11, 2014 at 1:20 pm

    Ahh! I love an organized space! Makes everything flow so much better! I bet the cubbies will be great there! I'm a little obsessed with built in shelves/cubbies here lately… Just yesterday I was telling Matt I wanted to add more to this closet & that closet. LOL! Can't wait to see it after!!

  2. Laura Marie Keenan says

    March 11, 2014 at 1:49 pm

    We recently moved our laundry to the basement (also where the litter box resides) so we could have a mud room. We are almost done adding a bench, cubbies, and shelves and it has made a huge difference. I highly recommend moving the laundry! So many fun mud room ideas on Pinterest!

  3. hello erin says

    March 11, 2014 at 1:51 pm

    Holla for organization… And for enough Reynolds wrap for like a century! I love that you have a "mud room". We have a "shoe basket" and it's totally not a pretty and borderline ghetto.

  4. DeNae says

    March 11, 2014 at 1:53 pm

    I love the idea of one room each month. We have four kids and as much as I try to keep on top of things, I am losing this battle. But really, I just wanted to comment to tell you that the picture of Hudson in those boots is just cracking me up. The belly. The boots. The look. So funny!

  5. Tiffany says

    March 11, 2014 at 2:01 pm

    I love this idea. I seriously need to go through and reorganize every room in our house. It may not look too bad at first glance… But in those drawers, and behind those closet doors, things are a mess!

  6. Tori G says

    March 11, 2014 at 2:18 pm

    Great job with all of your organizing! Love the idea of targeting an area each month!

  7. Courtney Wilson says

    March 11, 2014 at 2:40 pm

    Niiiiiiiiice. Why on Earth did you have groceries in that bench, lol?… Did you know that stuff was in there?

  8. Sara McCarty says

    March 11, 2014 at 2:54 pm

    Hahaha! Look at all those baggies! We have a secret stash of this stuff too. Doesn't spring cleaning feel so good. I hate doing it, but I love having things in their place. I'm in full on nesting mode right now so our house is getting a reorg too.

  9. Colleen Sullivan says

    March 11, 2014 at 3:31 pm

    Great job utilizing that space! I love a well used space. I'm in need of a shoes basket or something, because right now they just end up by the door and we trip over them!

  10. Lauren Gibbs says

    March 11, 2014 at 4:02 pm

    It's amazing how much better you feel once things are organized! It's just kind of a pain getting there 😉 You're inspiring me to get my butt in gear and do some spring cleaning & organizing!
    -Lauren
    Home Style Love

  11. Jenny says

    March 11, 2014 at 4:47 pm

    Love that bench/hook area! We are building one into our laundry room/mud room in the new house! I can't wait to actually have a place to put stuff when we walk in the door!

  12. E Hayes says

    March 11, 2014 at 5:14 pm

    Love it, we've been in mudroom makeover since like last summer, maybe this will motivate us to finish!!

  13. Ali Damron says

    March 11, 2014 at 6:51 pm

    In February, I created a home organization challenge where each day I would tackle a project. I was so proud of myself that all the main areas of our house were cleaned and organized right before Aiden's birthday and for when family came into town. Since our family has been here, every single area that I did is now a disaster and needs repeating. Ughh… it never ends I swear.

  14. Carolyn says

    March 11, 2014 at 7:34 pm

    OMG! That boot picture!! CRACKS ME UP! 🙂 So cute! And good work on organizing the house !I need to get on that!

  15. Hayley Chandler says

    March 11, 2014 at 8:44 pm

    I completely understand the feeling!!! I too have decided to make the best of our current house instead wishing for a bigger, better one. It's amazing how deciding to be content makes life so much easier. Like you, I have been in the organizing mode trying to make the most of the small spaces that we have.

  16. Jessica says

    March 12, 2014 at 12:18 am

    The organization looks awesome! Good job, Mama! I can't get over Hudson's tiny little boots in the bench with yours and your husband's. Oh, so sweet.:)

  17. Jodi says

    March 12, 2014 at 12:33 am

    I love organizing! Good job!

  18. Ashley @ Life on the Parsons Farm says

    March 12, 2014 at 2:57 am

    Nice work!! I love the idea of choosing a room for each month. I'm going to have to do this!

    atparsons.blogspot.com

  19. Sarah @ The Not Quite Military Wife says

    March 12, 2014 at 1:13 pm

    I love that you have a place to house your boots! Wish I had something like that!

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