The Perfect Project Organizer

It makes such a difference when you have just the right storage situation for your needs. My craft room is a room that houses many ongoing projects. I couldn't quite figure out how to keep it need and tidy, but still have the projects readily accessible. I knew that if I put them away, out of sight, that they would get forgotten and perhaps end up on the back burner forever. I have one wall of my craft room that my bookshelf fit on, and I just kept cramming more and more projects onto it. I didn't like the messiness of it, though.

I knew Ikea would have a solution. They always seem to have so many organizing and storage options. I wandered around until I found the perfect shelf. It's made of metal, so it's strong, and the paint doesn't chip off, either. I also spent some time in the basket and box organizers for shelves, and found the perfect match for my shelves. They weren't really meant to go together, but the basket/boxes fit perfectly on the shelves.

Hard to believe that's a photo of the very same spot, housing much of the same stuff.

I added felt to the bottom of the baskets, to ease in gliding and to protect the surface of the shelves. The drawers in the center of the shelving unit house smaller projects. I have shallow baskets in the drawers to keep them all organized and in their places.

I have a tag on the baskets that hold projects, so I know where everything is without having to pull all the baskets out. Can I tell you how happy this shelf makes me? It's crazy that something that simple can matter so much, but somehow it does. It makes me smile, and it also keeps my head a little more clear. Which is a big plus.

Cleaning out My Holiday Closet... Finally Done!

I can finally declare myself done with going through my Christmas decor (from 30 years of collecting). I feel so accomplished. It has taken me years and years to really do it. I've needed to go through each and every box, but somehow when it came time to take the decorations down, I only had energy to through it all back in boxes, and stuff it all back into the "Holiday Closet". Then came this year. The epitome of Grandmother Nesting. I've had grand babies before, and gone through Grandmother Nesting. But this time was different. As Christmas drew to a close, we were expecting FIVE grand babies... all within the three months directly following Christmas. So, this was nesting times 5. This would be the year that I could tackle the Holiday Closet. And sure enough. Though it took me several days (in between visiting and holding new babies, and babysitting the other grands), I got 'er done. Woohoo! And I have a huge mound of things that my daughters and daughter-in-laws can rummage through to see if there are any treasures they'd like.

The thing I knew I had to do, to be able to really clean out my Holiday Closet, was to empty it. I had to take out every box, every tree, every trinket, and make a decision whether to donate it or to put it back into the closet. This method works really well for me, because once I have a closet with empty shelves, I am loathe to want to put anything back onto the shelves that isn't something I totally love.

This is a before and after of the part of the closet that goes back and around under the stairs. The picture on the left is scary, and I never even looked back there, because it was too risky. And now, it looks like the pic on the right. I can practically dance my way back there. And don't think I haven't. It makes me so happy to see that floor and empty space, that I do feel like dancing when I'm in that closet.

               

    

And these photos below are of the same space, too.

                

 

You may have the thought that I still have too much Christmas stuff, and I probably do. But I have about half as much as I did have, and what you see in the photos are keepers, to me. Maybe I'll feel different next time I have Grandmother Nesting, and I'll go through another purge. But for now, I'm completely happy with what I've got going on. Completely.

The green tags you see on the boxes, just meant that I had gone through them. I can take the tags off now that everything has been done. Whew. Now, about those Halloween decorations...

Grout cleaning, Christmas organizing, and 72-hour kits

First of all, a big reminder that we'll be working on the next task for our 72-hour kits next week. Click the 72-hour kit tab above, and get caught up, and on the 15th, we'll move on.

Second of all, last night I achieved something great. All of the Christmas decor is gone from our main floor, and that same main floor is vacuumed and dusted. Ahhhhhh. I mentioned how it makes me feel like I can breathe deeply, and indeed I now can. That isn't to say that the basement makes me feel like I can breathe deeply. All of the decor that was on the main floor is sitting in piles, waiting to be gone through, and then awaiting it's new place in my cleaned-out spacious holiday closet. Since my holiday closet isn't spaciously cleaned out yet, I can't put everything back in it, so it sits and waits. This has been the weirdest year as far as getting things back into place. I'm VERY motivated to get it done the right way: to purge the old decor that I don't use, and donate it (either to my kids or to the thrift store). My "grandmother nesting" is in full swing, which helps the cause. BUT, more important things seem to keep coming up. Things like holding our new baby granddaugther, playing "McDonalds" with her sweet two-year-old brother, visiting our twin grandbabies in NICU as often as we possible can (because they are changing before our very eyes), catching up with a friend who has been serving with her husband in Florida but is home for her father's funeral (how do you say, "Darn. Don't have time to talk. I've got old Christmas decor to purge.") Christmas decor can wait. As luck would have it, we don't have a function that we need our basement for until Easter. ;)

And thirdly, I have made a miraculous, astounding, spring-in-my-step discovery. It began before Christmas as I was readying guest rooms and bathrooms for our kids to come and stay. In the bathroom that used to be our girls' bathroom as they were growing up, I was going for the vintage look and wanted white tiles with white grout.  Really? What in the world was I thinking? What happened to my rule of always using the grout that was already the color of dirt so that it would never look dingy? I think I thought that in this one little space, I'd be able to maintain control. But sadly that wasn't the case.

Sorry for the yellow-ish photos. That bathroom has no natural light, so photos are rough. But, yellow-ish or not, the ugly groutlines still show up loud and clear.

Ick.

And recently I have tried every single grout bleaching and brightening technique known to the Pinterest world. And every single time, it ended up looking the very same. How can bleach be so selective as to ruin articles of clothing, but won't make a dent in tiny dirty grout lines. Go figure.

One day as I was wandering through Home Depot, I thought I'd check once again for some sort of product that I hadn't already tried. And voila. I happened upon the answer.

The Miracle Grout Pen. I figured it couldn't hurt. I bought two pens (so that I for sure wouldn't run out), and took them home and went to town.

Can I tell you how much I love this product? Even if I have to do it once a year, I will love it til the day I die. It transformed an embarrassing countertop into one where the grout is the last thing you notice. I love it, I tell ya.

I used about a pen and a half on a two-sink countertop and back splash. I love the results and I'll let you know if it starts fading with cleaning. So far, so good.

Grands #3, #4, #5 and Christmas DeJunking

I know I've said it before, but I'll say it here again: I love this time of year. I do love the holidays and all that go with them. And I hate to wish them away, but by the time January 1 rolls around, I am more than ready to get all the Christmas decor put away and my house back to a nice fresh, blank slate. It makes me feel like I can take a big deep breath for the first time in a couple of months. Again, don't for a minute think I dislike the holidays. I LOVE Christmas and everything that goes with the celebrating of it. But, I also love January.

Having said that, I made up my mind that this would be the year that I truly would purge old decorations as I was putting things away. My holiday closet was getting far too crowded and hard to maneuver. There are shelves built in it, but way too much to fit on those shelves. And so much of the boxes are full of things that I haven't used in years. I bet I decorate with about a tenth of what is in that closet. Ugh. Something has to go.

And part of the closet goes back under the stairs. We have Christmas trees of all shapes and sizes stowed away in there, and I haven't used or looked at them literally in years. I think it's time I roll up my sleeves and empty that cavern. It's kindof frightening, honestly, but someone has to do it. It seems like it's some sort of a combustible fire hazard.

Every year I say I'll go through everything, and every year I end up just stuffing the same things back into boxes and stacking and positioning everything just so, so that it all fits (somewhat), and then closing the door until the next time. Not this year. No sir. And this quest of mine happens to coincide with some really great "grandma-nesting" time, so I really am slowly accomplishing this Herculean task. As I take boxes out to put things back in to, I look through the contents of the box, and set things aside that I haven't used in years. When I'm done, we'll have a Christmas Decor Giveaway with my kids. They can take whatever suits their fancy from the piles, and then I'll give the rest to Deseret Industries. Sounds like a perfect plan. Trouble is, as I was beginning to go through the painstakingly long process of going through each box (I'm not going to divulge here how many boxes I actually have, but it's wayyyyyy too many), Grandbaby #3 was getting ready to come! So of course I left my boxes and bags in the basement, and readied the house for the older, two-year-old sibling of Grandbaby #3, so that he could have a sleepover with Grandma and Grandpa whilst his baby sister was coming in to the world. And in case you haven't had the experience yet, I will tell you that when you're watching grandbabies, that's pretty much all you want to do. No work gets done, and that's as it should be. In fact, I didn't even think once about the mounds of Christmas decor strewn about my basement as I happily played with Grand #1

And then Grandbaby #3 made her arrival, and it became even more apparent that nothing else in the world mattered. Just our three beautiful grands. It doesn't get much better than that.

New Year's Day came and went with a slight celebration. We were happy and tired, and just curled up on the couch together with one of my other daughters, her husband and her sweet baby (Grand #2). We shuffled around in our sweats and slippers and enjoyed every lazy bit of it, holding and playing with Grand #2.

The next day, after our house guests had gone, my grandma-nesting kicked in again, and I carved out an hour to get down there and do just a bit more. But then Grand #1 and Grand #3 were calling to us, and we went over and made a visit and soaked up their sweetness.

That night I promised myself that I would work on my Christmas decor project the next day, and would accomplish great things with the heap. And I did get a couple of hours in before we zipped off to the temple for some much needed peace, perspective and renewal. When we got out of the temple, we got word from our son that his wife was in labor with their twins who were expected on February 18. We zipped down to the hospital, and a few minutes after we got there, two beautiful, perfect, healthy baby girls were born! Talk about our cup running over! We were (and are) so full of joy that we can hardly contain it. Grand #4 and Grand#5! And we still have two more to come, in February and March. We go through the motions of our days with such a big smile in our hearts and on our faces!

Yesterday, as we made visits to the various families, we thought how lucky we are to be able to see and visit all 5 (what?????) grandbabies in one day. They all live pretty close by, so we can get our baby fixes often.

And now back to reality. The basement. Today will be another day where I can get only a couple of hours in, but I'll plug away at it -- all the while watching my Christmas Decor Giveaway pile growing bigger and taller, and enjoying the luxurious space (one can only hope) of my holiday closet. And I'll have the 5 (+2) best reasons to have a huge smile while doing it. Wish me luck!

Christmas Card Keeper

What do you do when you look out the window, and this is what you see? My very first inclination was to throw on my sweats (or even better... jammies!), and talk my love into curling up on the couch and watching old movies with me. 

The perfect little project while curled up in front of the TV is going through the Christmas cards we just received. I quickly go through all of the envelopes and update my Christmas Card list with any address changes that I may not have previously known about. And then, I toss all of the envelopes into the garbage, and I punch a hole in the top corner of each card and Christmas letter we've received. After that, I just thread them onto a large keyring, and leave them out on the coffee table for a few weeks. That way, the family is easily able to thumb through them and read anything they missed out on. When I put it away for the year, I'll just attach a "2013" tag (which my husband is going to make with his magic laser machine), and I can keep it with the other Christmas card key rings I have. Its a fun way to keep the cards and photos, and to be able to look easily through them, without having to take the cards out of envelopes to view them. Easy and fun project!

Spinning Plates on the Verge of Greatness

Oh boy. Do you ever feel like the train has left the station, and you're running along side it trying to muster up the courage and the strength to climb on board? It's one of those stretches for me. I feel like I've got so many darn plates to spin, that I just am in awe of the pile of plates, and haven't even started spinning them. So much to do. I realize that there are two different analogies there, but that just about sums up my train of thought these days... too much going on in the head. It ends up feeling a bit fuzzy. 

Tonight is my daughter's baby shower. My other daughter, along with various friends and family members, is throwing it for her. And she was sweet and amazing enough to plan out all of the decorations and such whilst I was floating around in a boat somewhere near the Panama Canal. So, I've really only had to get my house in shape (a bigger task than I want to admit to), and plan some food. Not too big of a deal, but it's a plate that needs spinning, in order for things to work out nicely tonight. 

And there are several other plates: getting our backyard garage construction project done; and once the garage is done, cleaning out the other garage and storage unit so that we can have actual organized spaces (what a concept!); cleaning out and updating a new little rental property we just purchased (this one counts for several plates, I imagine); getting my yard put into shape after the construction has done a number on it; tearing out and filling in our pond and stream; preparing for my son's wedding luncheon in March; cleaning out every single closet and drawer in my house (you think I'm joking...); insert here about twenty more plates that I won't bore you with at this time; and, getting ready for the arrival of our second grand baby in March (at which arrival I will be a coach.... see the above graphic for my thoughts on this assignment).

So, although I know that I'm not any more busy than anyone else, sometimes things get a little crazy for a day or two. And then it all seems to fall into place, and I realize that I don't even have to spin every plate at once. In fact, things go along quite nicely if I just spin one plate, give it my all, and then once it stops spinning, set it aside and start another plate. I am very much a single-task oriented person, so I can be very satisfied being a "one-plate-spinner", all the while being quite dazzled at my husband's array of numerous plates spinning all together, and ne'er a one crashing to the ground. We get along quite nicely -- me and him -- with our different approaches to life. We are the yin to each other's yang.

Trip Preparation and Packing Lists

Whew. I finally feel like I'm starting to make ground on my "to-do" list. But just barely.

I promised I'd share these lists that help me get ready for my trips.

When we were preparing for our Panama Canal Trip, I got my "trip lists" out, like I always do, and started packing and getting my ducks in a row. I thought I'd share these lists on the blog... not because they will be perfect for you to use as you get ready for your trips, but the because the concept itself works really seamlessly for packing. These are lists that I've used through the years, and I know that as long as I check everything off, there won't be anything that I forget. And it has worked trip after trip after trip. Once in a while a random thing comes up that I've never thought of before, and it gets added to the list. But they are pretty comprehensive. And since I have them on my computer, I just print them off before the trip, and they're ready. No need to try to come up with a brand new list every time and cross my fingers that I've remembered everything. These lists take the guess work out of packing.

So, first of all I have a list of things I need to do to prepare for the trip.

As you can see, the list is pretty tailor-made for my home and family, but the point is to have a list, and then add to it and tweak it as you go along. As this list goes, I don't have to try to wrack my brain to try to remember all that I need to do before we leave. It's all on the list, ready to be checked off. Sometimes I don't need to do each and every item on the list, and then I just cross it off the list, or put an "n/a" next to it.

The next list is a general packing list for each of the family members who are going on the trip. This was SO very handy when I had a full house of kids. I would just print them each off a list, and they would go to town packing for themselves. I generally put how many of each of some of the items, just to help when we're trying to figure out outfits and such. Even when just Bob and I are going on a trip, I print one off for him and one off for me. Again, takes all of the guess work out of the packing.

The next list is a more comprehensive packing list for just me. It includes many more items than just the packing list that each of the kids get. Some of the items are repeats from the above family list, but it has quite a few other things that I need to remember to bring.

And the last of the four lists is one that I give to our house-sitter. When my whole family is gone on a trip, we hire one of the neighbor kids to take care of things. When it's just Bob and I, we'll have one or two of our kids checking in and watering and such. Either way, it's helpful for them to have a list of what you are wanting them to do each day.

I block out the days when they don't need to worry about doing some of the things, so they can look at the day at the top of the list, and then see the few things that they need to check on or do for that day.

As you can see, the lists aren't fancy at all, but they serve a great purpose, and that is to free my ever-buzzing head from the worries of preparing and packing for a trip. I don't have to re-think any of it. I just automatically pull up my four lists, adjust them a bit for that specific trip, and print them off. Done. I've been using these lists for at least 15 years now, and they are tweaked a bit through the years to fit our needs, but other than that, they're the same lists, and I wouldn't even think of going on a trip without using them!

So, start putting together your lists. You can use mine as a reference, and to jog your memory as to what you need to do before you leave for your trip, and also what you need to remember to pack. Do a simple list on your computer. In fact, you don't even need to print the lists off. Just make the list on your IPad or phone, or whatever, and refer to that as you pack. (Unless you're like me, and need to have the satisfaction of crossing things off the list.)

Panama Canal Trip and then back to the routine!

We are back! And since I don't normally advertise over the internet when we are leaving, you wouldn't even have missed us, but we were gone for almost two weeks! We went on a Panama Canal cruise, which was something we've always wanted to see. It was A.M.A.Z.I.N.G.

This is the Panama Canal (Gatun Locks) as our big cruise ship is entering the locks. The little trains you see below, attach to the ship by lines, and keep the ship in the center of the canal where it belongs. There are four trains on each side of the ship.

And here are the Miraflores Locks, seen from the side. It's hard to believe those huge cruise ships can fit inside of that space, but they do!

Oh, and here's my travelling partner. I could look at this photo all the day long. In fact, think I will.

Leading up to the trip, Bob and I were at a point in our hectic lives where we were mostly just passing each other in the hallway (sometimes at a pretty good trot). We needed some time away together, and this trip was just the thing. We saw beautiful things, thawed out in the warm sun, lazed around on lounge chairs and went on hair-raising zip-lines in the jungles of Costa Rica...

Here we are before. Happy as clams.

And here is Bob, gliding along with the greatest of ease. He never really looked the slightest bit different than he would look when he's sitting in a lounge chair sipping a cool soda. His facial expressions never change. Of course, he is the consummate "calm and cool under any circumstances".

I, on the other hand, have varying levels of fear, puzzlement (as to how to get my body pointing straight instead of sideways, when coming in for a landing), and excitement.

And lest you are wondering why there should really be any fear involved, this photo may give it a little justice. Some of the zip lines are 150 feet above the jungle floor. Think of it. Doesn't it get your adrenaline going a little bit?

Near the end of the zip-lines, I did figure out how to come in straight and I may have even had a smile or two.

...We also went on walks, worked out together (remember, fatty, high-calorie cruise food -- we needed to keep some of that at bay), actually read books, and generally soaked each other up for 12 whole days. Heaven. We could have been anywhere on earth, and it wouldn't have mattered to either one of us, as long as we got to spend that uninterrupted time together. It will be just the thing to get us through the busy months ahead!

And now that we're back, I feel like I'm ready to conquer the world. Well, almost. I came back to this.

I had sworn to myself (and anyone else who would listen) that I refused to come home to any Christmas decorations that still needed to be put away. But, try as I might, I could not carve out the few hours it would take to put them all away where they go. So, it all sat on the floor of our basement just patiently waiting for me to get home. And the very morning after I got home, I rolled my sleeves up and got to work. It felt great to pack it all away, but I was reminded of my need to purge Christmas decorations, so I invited all of my kids to a Christmas garage sale next October. Done.

And with the basement all cleaned up and organized, I was in my "nesting" mode, so everywhere I've gone in my house in the past few days, I've lingered to organize. I still have oh, so much to do, but it feels so good to start seeing a little organization and order scattered here and there in our home.

In a couple of days, I'll be sharing my Trip Packing and Prep lists that help me remember to pack every last thing and also to do all that needs to be done around the house before we leave. It makes the preparation part of trips so much easier!

New Year's at the Cabin

We had a quick, but wonderful getaway up to the cabin for the New Year's celebrations. We started arriving at the cabin on Monday, and by Tuesday, everyone was there. Words can't describe the joy that I feel when our whole little family is all together. Somehow I feel so complete and so indescribably happy. I love the fun-loving banter that goes on, as well as the hilarious laughter. And there are times when I see one of my kids (or kid-in-laws) building up one of the others -- helping them feel better about themselves or a situation. Yep. It really doesn't get much better than those times when we're all together.

And while up there, on New Year's Day, we read aloud the "Memories and Sweet Moments" from 2013.

It's funny how you sometimes forget those memories. It was pretty great to hear each of us around the table read a few of the cards. And then reminisce a little about the memory. It's a really great tradition for our family. We keep the previous years' memories in the jar on a little ring so that we can also look through those if we want.

I so love the new year and January. I love putting away all the Christmas things and gifts and such, and getting my house back to a "clean slate". Sometimes I leave tables bare for a little while, just because I love the uncluttered feeling. I also am in a "purging" state, throwing away and/or donating anything I can get my hands on. I have a secret wish to have a Desert Industries storage pod parked on my driveway for a week or two so that I can just continually march things out there without giving each item a second thought. 

I am definitely in a re-organizing mode. I have closet after closet and room after room that all need an overhaul. Can't wait to get my hands on them!

The Real Deal: A happily imperfect life

Just in case you have found yourself reading blogs and thinking everyone in blogland is perfect, I've got some imperfection to throw at you today.

We have an organizing emergency around these parts. Just about every closet and drawer in my home need an organizing make-over in a big way. I'm looking for a good, solid whole-home organizing plan, and hope to come up with something that will work for me and my home. For all of our sake. My sweet, sweet husband never utters a word about how disheveled certain areas in our home are. He may be thinking a myriad of things as he opens a closet or drawer, but he is kind enough to just shut the door or drawer and move along. It could possibly have something to do with the fact that if he brings any of it out into the open, that will be "our" next, instantaneous project. No. It's better to keep one's thoughts to oneself in that case.

The odd thing is, I LOVE to organize. If I could have a day with nothing to do, I probably would choose to tear into my closet, or my food storage room, or anything else that needs some work. When I was a youngster, and my parents would go out on a date, I'd re-organize my mom's pantry, or move the furniture around in my room, or put all of my books in alphabetical order... the list goes neurotically on and on. Before I go too much further, my mom's pantry was never in need of reorganizing. She is a very organized gal herself. I just liked to stack and re-stack and put items in order of how a 12-year-old thinks pantry items should go in. Sorry mom. Truly I am sorry. Its a wonder you and Dad ever even wanted to leave the house.

Having said that, I think I put off organizing a room until I have the time to do it "right". I need to carve out a big chunk of time to go through everything and get things put where they belong. I also need to find a time when the piles of things won't be bothersome for a couple of days. So, it does take me a while to get to some of these larger organizing projects. But, I've dubbed 2014 as my year to get organized: "Get organized and clean in 2014" (or something along those lines).

This is my food storage/emergency supply room. (Please don't let there be any emergencies quite yet)

And my poor craft room. There is a circle of life in that room. I get it all spruced up and everything put away. And then a crazy week or month comes along, and I can't spare even a minute to put things away. It takes no time at all to turn it into a state of upheaval. So, another project awaits. Oh, but I need to get to it before the Christmas hurricane hits it.

So there you have it. I could show you many more photos of organizing catastrophes, but that just might make you feel out of sorts all day long.

I'll find a good solution, but in the meantime, I'll just shut a door or two and go along my merry way.

Week by Week Food Storage Plan... Week off!

This is a odd calendar month. This first week of October began with September 30 being on the Monday. So, that means that for our Week By Week Food Storage Plan, we will take this week off. Its an extra week. Remember the plan uses four weeks from each month, so anytime there is an extra week in the month, there will be a week off. I LOVE the "weeks off", because it allows me to catch up on anything I previously have gotten behind with. If I am pretty much all caught up, then I spend some time organizing my food storage area (which it basically always is in need of).

If your food storage room is already all organized and clean, then lucky you. You can spend an entire week resting on your laurels.

Speaking of organizing, I am going through my clothes closet, finally! I have gone through the shoes (whew) and put a bunch of them in a box to give away to Deseret Industries. When my daughter was going through it, she exclaimed more than once "Mom, these are practically Grandma shoes". Two issues with that statement: 1) I AM a grandma; and 2) She did end up taking a few pairs home for herself, so they must not be all that "Grandma".

Now I'm going through each type of clothing: pants, sweaters, tops, skirts, dresses, purses, scarves, jackets, etc, etc. So today, I plan on going through just the pants. I will try on anything I need to just to be sure they haven't stealthily gone to the "out of style" side. Am I the only one who hangs on to things for a long time because I loved how they fit and looked when I bought them? And then down the line, after I haven't worn the pants for a while, I try them on thinking that they're going to look as cute as the day I bought them. There have been many a time that I've looked back in the mirror at myself wondering how that pair of pants went from darling (in my memories) to out of style (in my mirror) in about 10 seconds. Its astounding, but it also helps me jettison items from my closet, which is the whole point to this closet-organizing project!

So, I'll continue on. It may be several weeks til I'm actually through my whole closet, but that's okay with me. Already, just with the shoes being able to fit on my shelves, I feel like I can suddenly breathe better when I'm in my closet. And think better.

Cleaning the Craft Room

Whew! The holidays completely flew past. I love Christmas and everything that goes along with celebrating such a wonderful holiday. But I must admit, it tires me out... and this year for some reason it did more than others. I think its because I was probably less organized and had more projects and things going on. This year, I am going to make a goal to get everything done by December 1st: tree up, house decorated, shopping done, Christmas cards addressed and ready to mail, projects completed, etc, etc. I hope I can do it!

I do love January. I may be in the minority with that, but I really, really LOVE January. I love to have my house back to a more simple decor, I love to get to the dust that's been collecting in and around the Christmas decorations, I love to organize closets and drawers and rooms that desperately need it. Its a great month to "catch up" for me, and I take full advantage. This particular January, we have our first grand baby due, so when that happens, everything else will be at a stand-still, but that's as it should be! 

So, when I took all of my Christmas decorations down, I piled them down in the basement, just to get them out of the way. This is what my basement looked like on Saturday morning. 

I spent a few hours boxing and putting away so that we're all ready for next year. I might add that another project I have slated is to go through the boxes of Christmas stuff that I haven't opened up for the past few years and take it to D.I. I only use about 25% of the Christmas decorations that I have, so its time to get rid of things.

I don't really have an "after" photo of my basement, because that would be boring. The photo you see above would pretty much be just a photo of our carpet, now that the things are packed away.

One of the unfortunate casualties of November and December is my craft room. I start with it all organized, and I end up tossing things in there and shutting the door. This, my friends, is what my craft room looked like this past week. Not a pretty sight, and not something I'm particularly proud of.

I'm just keeping it real. As you can see, there are piles of things on every surface, and not much floor space left, either. After about 3 hours of rolling my sleeves up and getting to work, I now have it looking like this:

Why do I put that off for so long, thinking that it will be days and days of work? I still have some more things to go through and organize, but at least its a usable room. It feels so nice to go in there and to be able to find whatever I need, and then to be able to actually put it away afterwards. Where the little brown table is in the center, we are thinking about putting some sort of a cutting table/island. I think it will start where the chair is on the left, and then go across to where the table is, sort of like a peninsula. It will be great for larger fabric cutting.

And that is what I've been up to this weekend! I need about 20 more Saturdays to get the rest of the house done, but at least its a start!