30 Spaces in 30 Days Catch-Up

It has been quite a month so far!  I have been busy with just about everything and everyone!

I haven't abandoned my 30 Spaces in 30 Days project...I just haven't blogged about it!  Not all spaces are blog post worthy by themselves.  So I will get a few together at once for those, but some are definitely life changing (well, my life that is :)!  I just posted the Master Closet!

It is evident that since I started my 30 days officially on February 22nd that I may not reach my ultimate goal.  30 days are up... a few days ago - March 24th actually.  Oops.

Here is an idea of where I stand right now...(crossed out = done and checks = in process)

So I am extending myself two weeks.  I work on deadlines.  I need deadlines to get things done.  Therefore, I self impose deadlines on myself all the time for no other reason than I need it done.  And then I surpass my own deadlines and feel bad.  The endless cycle of life!

There have definitely been many days where I didn't work on anything.  Days I wasn't even home.  Life just isn't as simple as it comes across in a blog.  Emerson will be spending some time with her father in a week which should allow me time to wrap it all up without missing any of my sweet time with her.

30 Spaces in 30 Days - Master Closet

I have problems.  I hold onto things for the "just in case".  I hold onto things for memories.  I hold onto things because someone else might want or need them.  I hold onto things for the past and for the future.  As for the present...It just makes me frustrated!

Master Closet - Day 1.

One of my biggest organizational issues is stuffing anything and everything into my closet.  I have two nosy toddlers.  So anything that needs to be hidden, kept safe, or just has no other place in the home, goes straight to my closet graveyard.  Thank goodness it is on the large side.  I would say it is the worst space in the house.  I probably clean it out the most of any space, but it almost immediately goes back to awful.  Awful.  

Before...(terribly embarrassing)...

About 15 minutes later (only removing items that should never by in the master closet)...

It then took about 20 minutes to decide what to do with everything removed and move it.  Lots of it just needed to go.  Every time I clean out a closet or a drawer, I try to figure out WHY I am holding onto so much crap.  And, yes, I mean CRAP.  It's all so random and annoying.  For instance, tonight...a pinwheel,  bunny glasses (like glasses in the shape of bunnies), and bubbles.  Um, what?  Obviously, I have kids.  But why do the kiddos get MY closet too?  Ugh.  MY closet needs to contain MY stuff.  And MY stuff ONLY!

Robert was asleep on the bed so I couldn't do too much demolition tonight.  Tomorrow.  Rome wasn't built in a day and neither will my dream closet.  ;)

Master Closet - Day 2.  

Clothes cleaned out...but what is left is a mess!

Shoes...Ugh.  Previous philosophy was just throw in and occasionally make pretty.

Oh...Do you remember the "rules"?  Well, I found a good example of things that need to go because they don't make me "happy".  It doesn't make me "sad", but it doesn't make me "happy" either.  It just is.  I don't know what to do with it, but it just can't be here.  Suggestions appreciated.

[Did you like my super professional "momtographer"photoshop effects on that one?  

I think it is awesome.  *insert sarcasm here*]

Master Closet - Day 3.  

The final results...

Pretty amazing, right?  I have opened my closet door just to stare at it a few times.  

Step 1. Pull all clothes that I just don't like (why did I buy this???), I haven't been worn in a year, or I don't know why I have to begin with (where did this come from???).  

Step 2. Divide into 2 categories - donate and try on.  

Step 3. Try on all the maybes.  Most of them go to the donate pile.  They are all too small, too big, fit funny, or are just not me.  

Step 4. Check out the keeps for stains, missing buttons, holes, etc.  Determine if I can even repair if I want to.  If not, throw away (some did go to donate...I mean one small button can be fixed by someone).  

Step 5. Recheck the keeps and pull more.  Repeat steps above a few times over.  

Step 6. Organize the keeps by type (dresses, skirts, pants, shorts, shirts).  Keep pulling more donate items as found.

Step 7. Put donate in car.  95 hangers in car.  Many, many, many more were folded and put in bags.  

Step 8.  Check out my progress.  Wow.

After I got my "keeps" manageable, I color coded.  Yes - I googled a color wheel and started with white and worked my way to black by each type.  Yes - I realize that may have been overkill, BUT it looks fantastic!

Color coded by type and hung on appropriate hangers.  

Here are my fall/winter "keeps".  I folded all my long sleeve tees, knits, and sweaters and put in the clear bins on the shelf above.  Since it was the end of the season, I found it a lot easier to let things go because I could easily remember why I didn't wear it.  I paired down the fall/winter group much, much, much easier than my spring/summer clothes (most likely because I have grandiose ideas of wearing everything that I haven't touched in a while).  

Note to self: Clean out closet in detail at the end of each season.  Much easier that way.

Color coded these too!  

Thinking hanging storage bags might be a good investment for out of season keeps.

Shoes, purses, and accessories (jewelry, belts, etc) are done much of the same way.  Most of that in my closet is years old.  I mean, years.  So it wasn't very hard to part with most of it as I am not really sure why I have kept it this long!  I haven't bought much of anything except out of necessity for myself since 2008 when I was preggo with Emerson.  Sad, right?

Shoes, shoes, shoes...

All fall/winter shoes put away on top shelf (cleaned prior to boxing).  

Summer heels on bottom shelf (cleaned too!).

Summer shoes placed on shoe organizer (cleaned too!).  

Flip flops in basket (Did you know you can wash the rubber soled kind in the washing machine (air dry!)?  

It makes them super clean and sanitizes.  Google knows everything.).

Purses, accessories, swimsuits/coverups, socks/tights/leggings...

All purses were given a wipe down and clean out if needed.  

Summer purses were put out so I would actually use!

I sorted, cleaned, moved, and organized everything.  Everything.

After seeing it clean and organized, it needs new paint.  The original painters obviously didn't think anyone would notice that they didn't really paint the top shelves.  It's a really rough primer coat.  It makes it almost impossible to clean.  And the walls are a stark white with a lot of years worth of dings and scrapes.  But I can live with it.  I have for 4 years already.  

Maybe a summer project... Paint my closet!  Sounds like fun!  Let me know if you are coming to help.  ;)

30 Spaces in 30 Days - Week 2. Done.

Today was catch up from a busy week.

Master Closet.  Done.

Master Bedroom.  Done.

Emerson's Room.  Done.

Emerson's Closet.  Done.

Robert's Room.  Done.

Robert's Closet.  Done.

Kid's Bathroom.  Done.

Boom.

Pictures tomorrow.  Sleep eminent.

30 Spaces in 30 Days - Day 1 Update

Day 1...Today has been rough.  I have been excited (yes, excited!) to finally tackle my house.  I have had new ideas running through my mind for over a year now and it seemed like I was finally taking the first steps to get there.  First step, organize home.  Second step, turn it into greatness.  Easy, right?

But almost as soon as today started, I hit speed bump Robert.  Today has not been a good day for him.  Robert is still getting over a nasty sinus infection.  He starting vomiting and spiked a fever Thursday night while Emerson was at gymnastics.  Then spiked another fever late last night.  And today nothing seems to make him happy!

But in between naps and Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, I did finish moving all the contents of the playroom upstairs.  Yes - Beyond cleaning and organizing, there is also moving.  The upstairs is empty (mostly anyway).  It is big.  And it is out of public sight.  Perfect for a playroom.  

So the playroom that served me well for being right off the family room for (almost) the past 2 years, is now going back to a guest room and an added surprise just for me :).  

A picture of the before playroom on a very, very, very bad day (or depending how you want to look at it - a really good day for Emerson)...

After pics of the freshly cleaned room...

Plus, I had some extra time and cleaned out the closet.  Yea me!  Two spaces in one day!  There will definitely be days ahead that I will be too busy for anything or need more than one day for one space.

Before...Scary!

After...Ahhhhhhhh...Just lovely.

It became apparent as I was cleaning out the closet (which for the most part has always been a catch-all since I moved in) that I need a transitional space.  I had a small pile of things I do plan on utilizing elsewhere and a small pile of things that I may donate in the end, but just not sure at the moment.  So that is what this closet has become until the 30 days are over.  

Ahhhh...I can breathe a sigh of relief.  This empty space makes me happy.  It has lots of potential and I will finally have a space to do some new things :).

Three more bags!  One of trash/recycling and two for donation.  

30 Spaces in 30 Days

In my last post, I talked about my idea for 30 Spaces in 30 Days.  I am so excited about even the idea of this.  I have a lot of things to worry about, stress about, and just think about...All.the.time.  Moving a stack of paper from one flat surface to another or finding a simple item of clothing should not be one of them. So I sat down and made a list of all the spaces in my home.  Spaces - Not rooms.

Ta-da!  I made the list then I counted it.  It is exactly 30 spaces.

You will notice that probably one of the biggest, dirtiest, messiest, unorganized places in the whole house is not listed.  The garage.  I am no dumbie!  As I clean, sort, donate, throw away, I have no doubt that as it leaves the "house", it will sit in the garage until it makes it to the car, the next owner, the recycling center, or the dump.  So the garage will probably be my next project.  And a big project.  Ugh.  

Back to the current topic...I made a few rules for me to follow:

1.  The space needs to be emptied, cleaned, and reorganized according to how I currently use (or need to use) the space.  (Simple, right?)

2.  The items put back in the space need to be fulfill some sort of purpose and leave a positive feeling (to be discussed later when I have a good example).

3.  If the to be kept items are in need of major cleaning and/or missing/broken pieces need to be found/replaced then it is taken care of within a reasonable amount of time.

4.  I will keep a running list of future projects as I find them.  I hope that this whole 30 Spaces in 30 Days initiative will help me jumpstart a more active approach to taking care of things in the present instead of being stressed out by them in the future.  I can't solve all of my problems in a month so one thing at a time.  

On Friday morning, I took 2 & 1/2 car loads of kid's clothing, toys, and baby items to Kidz Klozet for their semi-annual consignment sale.  (I totally meant to snap a phone pic of the packed cars, but forgot in the excitement of seeing my items dropped off.)  Consignment is hard work.  Finding it, cleaning it, organizing it, hanging it, tagging it is time consuming and hard work!  But again, it is now out of my house and somewhere that someone else can choose to take home and enjoy it too!  I only hope I priced it correctly so it does not come back home with me!  :)  

Do you remember how I was going to keep up with how many "bags" of stuff (from the inspirational blog post of 40 Bags in 40 Days on Clover Lane)?  Well, I would say that a conservative estimate on the amount of items that went to consignment would be 10 bags.  A quarter of the way there already before Day 1!

Day 1 is tomorrow!  Please don't expect an update each day, but I will get to it.  Check back for updates!

Stuff, stuff, and stuff.

If you are local and have kids, then I am sure you have heard about Kidz Klozet.  It is the big semi-annual kid's consignment sale.  I don't care if your kids wear brand new everything and only play with gold plated toys, everyone I know consigns the outgrown and no longer needed clothing and toys.  So I have been busy, busy, busy (did I say busy?) pulling, cleaning, hanging, and tagging everything kid related for the consignment sale coming up in a few weeks - March 5th - 9th to be exact.  But drop-off is tomorrow!  So my resolution to blog more immediately fell to the side as I am on a deadline!

In my efforts to consign, I have realized just how unorganized and overwhelmed my life is.  I have stuffed and essentially "hoarded" baby/kid stuff in almost every closet.  I was not fully prepared when these two little munchkins came into this house.  I should have cleaned out all of my stuff then and had many an empty closet(s) waiting for them and all they own.

So here is the plan, the consignment "stuff" will leave the house tomorrow.  Yea!  And I will start a new mission...30 Spaces in 30 Days.  I recently read a blog post called 40 Bags in 40 Days on Clover Lane.  This idea is centered around Lent.  If I had not read it after Ash Wednesday while out of town, then I may have tried to do this exact challenge.  My immediate thought was..."There is no way that I even have 40 bags of stuff that I don't need!"  But after really looking and sorting for child-related consignment "stuff", I think I can do it...and very easily.  But instead of focusing on bags, I want to focus on spaces.  Some of my spaces might not have things to dispose of, but rather need organizing and some spring cleaning.  And just for fun, I am going to keep count of the bags and boxes too.

And not to mention, the Junior League of Mobile's very own Project Rummage!  Project Rummage is March 15th - 16th.  If I can get started now, all my closet clutter that is in great condition can go to a good cause that will help my local community!  Win-win.  :)

The 30 Spaces in 30 Days challenge starts this weekend.  Emerson will be out of the house so I think its a great time to keep the momentum going after all of this consignment work this week.  I hope to keep you updated with before and after pictures as I go.

Emerson's Big Girl Room Makeover (Part 1)

This weekend, Emerson was "away".  So in the hopes of being productive, more organized, and genuinely less stressed out, I have decided that I need to accomplish one project every other weekend.  I no longer have another person of the male variety to assist in making my life easier or lending a hand when two just aren't enough.  So when I have one less person to worry about, feed, bathe, and generally take care of every other weekend, I need to be accomplishing something...anything...!  

Cue Big Girl Room Makeover...

No - Emerson's room isn't receiving a new ceiling to floor redo.  I loved her nursery three and half years ago and I still love it!  I wish I didn't need to redecorate, but the crib bedding has long been tucked away.  The iron bed in a beautiful antique white finish even found a new home in Robert's room 19 months ago.  Emerson has a much cheaper white Jenny Lind style crib with only the toddler railing attached for the past year plus.  Originally, she wasn't supposed to have it for too long and it was just until she was ready to convert to a normal bed.  Well, that time came and went.  It has been long overdue to move to a normal bed.

Early last summer, I found a full sized bed with lots of spindles on an online resale site.  With the help of my Dad and a truck, the bed found a new home in my garage...for at least six months...while it patiently waited for me to find just the right bedding (sigh).  Time came and went.  At first, Emerson asked every single day for at least a month about her new bed that leaned up against the wall right where she got in and out of the car every day.  And I kept promising her that we would paint it very soon.  She eventually stopped asking and every once in a while would say something like she was just re-noticing it leaning in the same exact spot.  I promised her that once my life was in some sort of order (i.e. divorce finalized) that her bed would become priority.  And then just about the time I could breathe again...Robert's next major open heart surgery was scheduled.  Time flew by with no fresh paint on that bed.  Thanksgiving and Christmas were busy as usual until 3pm on Christmas Day when Emerson went "away" again.

The day after Christmas, I decided it was time.  I pulled up Pottery Barn Kids online and just made a decision.  Samantha Collection it is.  Love it in blue.  I mean LOVE it.  Just gorgeous.  But she has blue curtains.  And these blues will never match.  And those expensive blue curtains aren't going anywhere.  So pink it is.  One duvet cover and two shams.  I throw it all in the imaginary cart.  And it's on sale!  :)

I receive it a week later in 2013.  Yea!  I immediately open the box, admire my purchase, think about how Emerson will just love it, and then throw it all in the laundry room - box included.  Two weeks go by.  It's all still in the laundry room.  AHHH!  Why can't I get it together?!?!???  I have been waiting on the bedding to finalize the to paint or not to paint the bed situation.  It's obvious I need to paint the bed...So here's the conversation with Emerson...

Me: "Emerson, what color do you want to paint your bed?"

Emerson: "Pink."

Me: "What if we have pink sheets, pink pillows, and pink blankets AND we paint the bed BLUE?" [I am Oooooo'ing and Ahhhhh'ing like blue is the most amazing color ever.]

Emerson: "No.  Pink."

Me: "Emerson, everything else will be pink.  Wouldn't it be the best thing ever if we painted the bed BLUE?" [Oooooooo.  Ahhhhhhh.]

Emerson: "No blue.  Pink."

Me: "Emerson, do you want me to have BLUE sheets, pillows, and blankets so we can paint the bed pink?" [Gagging to show how gross that would be.]

Emerson: "No blue.  Pink everything."

That conversation went really far.  Girls and the color pink!  

Did I ever tell you that my favorite color is pink?  True story.

After school on Friday, Emerson and I took her fabric to pick out a paint color at The Heron House.  I have been hearing and reading about chalk paint.  I decided that was what I was using - nothing else but chalk paint.  And The Heron House sells it - plus has someone there to tell me how to use it.  I get to the store, check the samples, find the one I like, and its milk paint.  Not chalk paint.  So I am using milk paint with a top coat of polyurethane (not the normal stain or wax).  (Miss Mustard Seed does a great job showing you in pictures the difference between the two if you are interested.)

At checkout, the woman offers me a paint brush (for $3 - nothing is ever free!) that they recommend with their paints.  I agree.  Emerson immediately speaks up and says that we need two - not one - as she forcefully says, "My mommy needs a brush too.  She's helping me paint."  Gotta love a girl that will take charge!  We leave with paint in hand and go get ice cream!  

Emerson goes "away" that same Friday evening.  And the next Saturday morning, I am cleaning the bed for a fresh coat of General Finishes Baby Blue Milk Paint!  I hoped to finish the bed before she returns on Monday afternoon (long weekend for MLK).  

Before...

One coat...

Two coats...

After Polyurethane...

So what do you think???  I love how it turned out.  I will definitely be using milk paint again.  It was an easy application and delivered exactly how I suspected.  Yea!  Big girl bed frame complete!  Now stay tuned for the rest of the project!  :)

Emerson came home to find her new bed in the garage...And asked to jump on it.  Sure???  I snapped a picture of her "jumping" on her big girl bed.

Nursery Progress

I realize that us me worrying about the appearance of the baby’s nursery seems really trivial to most anyone reading our blog.  But please let me explain that as of 3 weeks ago, we had not done a single thing.  I was actually avoiding it.  I had decided not to buy another baby thing.  I didn’t want to come home to a nursery with no baby.  But after a while, I realized that even more, I didn’t want to come home with a baby to no nursery.

Previously, it was Emerson’s playroom.  And this is what it looked like…

But then we cleaned it out and had it painted…

 

And then came the decorating.  We had the main things – crib, rocker, etc.  It was therapeutic…and a bit stressful to put it together.  I pulled Emerson’s baby items (car seat, bouncy seat, swing, Moses basket, etc.) for wash (and then gave them to my mother to actually wash…haha).  And then pulled out the gender neutral clothes and the things that I had already purchased.  

Here are a few pictures that I snapped the day before we left for Birmingham.  This is how it was left and what we will return to.  Artwork needs to be hung and a few other things still to be done to finalize it all, but its turning out pretty sweet.  (The rocker needs to be moved into the room…Huhum…Dad?)  But for the most part, its a working nursery. 

  

The cute dresser I ordered came in about a week ago while we were here in Birmingham.  I haven’t seen it in person, but here is the website picture in blue (ours will be green).

On another note, why is it that the guy never worries about anything baby?  It is insane how much time I have put into making sure we have all that we need…and if we don’t have it, making a list of what we still need to consider at a later date.  I seriously doubt Phillip has given the smallest thought to how many blankets or onesies we have…and definitely not sizes.  I can’t imagine him even thinking about needing waterproof mattress covers or burp cloths and bibs. 

Back to life (sorta)…

I woke up in my own bed this morning!  And immediately returned to life…Getting Emerson up, fed, dressed, etc.  And then was immediately exhausted.  Plus, I think I have a pinched nerve in my back from laying around for 3 days straight.

Emerson’s last day of MDO was today.  They have an end of the year party scheduled for Thursday, but due to Emerson’s food allergies (eggs & peanuts), we stay away from all the class parties.  One of these days, she will catch on to that…

[pic coming soon]

Emerson came home DIRTY.  Phillip rarely gets to see the effects of some serious playground time.  I think he was a little surprised.  I tried to get a good picture, but she was already in the bathtub and couldn’t take her eyes off the brown dirt water just from her feet alone. 

[pic coming soon]

I also received a call from USA C&W and UAB.  I have an appointment scheduled for Tuesday, May 24th, at UAB with the high risk group.  It seems like I will be in Birmingham from that point on.  I am just unsure if I will have any more appointments during that week or not, so we may be able to come back for Memorial Day weekend (???).  UAB is taking care of finding me a primary care physician (OB) as I only have a fetal specialist up there now.  It’s just all so confusing and FRUSTRATING!

I took some time off this morning, but with my UAB appointment newly scheduled for exactly one week from today…I need to get busy.  I have quite a few things to do.  Eek. 

Current state of the nursery…(lots.still.to.do.ugh.)

[pic coming soon]

Online shopping craziness.

So as you can imagine upon receiving the news that I am having contractions and are at risk for preterm labor, my motivation just skyrocketed.  And yet, I am stuck in bed or on the couch.  Frustrating.  Thankfully, our loyal painter (number available upon request…he is the absolute best!) called after our doctor’s appointment and is available to paint immediately.  So as I lay here in wait, I am busy doing some online shopping.  :)

I found and bought a dresser - Coastal Living by Stanley (this is not the color I chose)…

Curtain panels (white with green chenille dots)…

A set of 3 paintings (the lion is my favorite – so cute!)…

A pom pom pillow (in white)… A Boppy pillow cover (these are the absolute best blankets ever…and now its a Boppy cover too!)…A head support for the car seat (we have a pink one, but I don’t think pink will cut it for baby boy)…

A new diaper bag (it was 50% off retail on zulily today!)…

And even more exciting stuff (*sarcasm*) like curtain rods…

The one thing I am struggling with is that I am starting to think we need a twin bed in the nursery.  We didn’t do that with Emerson.  Instead, we invested (well, more like my mother purchased for us) a super cushy rocker and ottoman.  It worked out great when we ended up sleeping with her by necessity.  But this time around, I am thinking we may end up needing an actual bed.  With the amount of problems and possible “tet spells” that we are expecting, I have a feeling that we will be spending a lot of time in there.  Plus, if we call in reinforcements (aka LaLa – my mother) for night duty, then she has somewhere to stay close to baby.  I am hoping that all of my purchases just come in sooner rather than later so we can determine if we even have enough space for a twin bed. 

On schedule for tomorrow…Downloading all of our pictures from various cameras and storing on our external hard drive (jealous???).  Oh – AND it is Phillip’s 30th birthday!  I plan on taking him to a nice dinner…I still have to eat, right?