Making A List And Checking It Twice

At the end of a very busy wedding season I started compiling a list of things that needed to be done around the house. 

The crazy thing is, every time I crossed one thing off the list I added two or three more!

Clearing The Clutter

It just seems that once January rolls around we all jump on board the organizational craze that sweeps across Blogland and Pinterest.

 

I imagine it has to do with clearing out all the holiday décor. Once we put away everything, it seems a natural progression to want to continue to clean and clear our homes, and keep them clutter free.

Weekend Things

It was a busy but beautiful weekend here in the mountains....the best part being that I was NOT WORKING!!  Well....not working at the office, anyway - but let's face it, there's always a ton to do around the house. And after being in the office every weekend for what seems like forever I was one busy girl around home this weekend!

And I was happy as a clam. 

I kicked off the weekend with a lovely evening with my sweetie on Friday with dinner out at a local brewery. 

Followed by dessert at home.....

Just look at those beautiful chocolates - and I'll tell you, they taste even better than they look!

Dealing with Holiday Stress

My daughter wrote an amazing post that came out today on Be Your Own Muse that talks about mental health. Her post really got me thinking about all the stress we go through during the holidays. 

I shared a little about how I was feeling totally overwhelmed last week here and how I caught up a bit here.  

I know, for me, I start feeling overwhelmed when there are a million things I feel I need to do and not enough hours in the day...or energy....to get them all done. 

I really, really like things very organized and tidy in my house. When they get messy or disorganized that brings on feelings of stress for me, and my heart starts racing a little. I don't know if this happens to other people, but I do know it happens to me. And it makes me cranky. I know this about myself. 

One of the things I try to do to keep that in check is take time each and every morning before work to accomplish at least one chore. By that, I mean one chore in addition to the normal daily morning routine of unloading the dishwasher, showering, making the bed, making my lunch, etc. If I take 15 minutes each morning to accomplish one additional thing it helps keep the chores from piling up and keeps me on track. Less stress = less crankiness. 

Via

I also know that I require quiet time. Regular bouts of quality quiet time. I am not one of those people who can just go, go, go and never take a second to breathe. That would flat out drive me over the edge - you'd find me sitting on the floor in a corner of my walk in closet whimpering and talking to myself. 

I make sure not to take on more than I can handle. If we have too many invites pouring in I do not feel one bit guilty turning some down - I know my own self and there's no way I can be out more than a few nights per week at social engagements. Our social calendar is quite full as it is and sometimes I just have to put the brakes on so I can have a peaceful night at home. There's nothing wrong with that. 

One of my happiest places in my home is my kitchen. I love preparing a nice meal with the music playing in the background and the candles burning while I'm sipping on a glass of wine. That's a good place to be and it tends to calm my soul. Making sure I have a few nights each week just like that keeps me grounded and sane. Relatively speaking, of course!

I also love to read. There's nothing like a good book to take me out of my own mind and shut off all the daily turmoil inside my head. Right now I'm reading a fabulous book by Debbie Macomber called Starry Night. 

I just started it on Sunday and I read over half the book that night - I just couldn't put it down. Don't you just love a great book like that? I've been making a point to read Christmas books all month which helps me keep the holiday spirit alive in my heart. 

One of the other things that really relaxes me is having a nice hot bath with some aromatic bath salts and a couple of candles flickering nearby. I love the mineral bath salts from Aura Cacia - they have wonderful naturally derived fragrances that really release their scent with the steam and the mineral salts help with sore, aching muscles. Win, win!! 

I'm a big fan of aromatherapy and always have been. In addition to the routines I practice to keep my stress in check I will often have a candle burning in the house when I'm puttering around. The scent will change with the seasons or my mood but either way, having something fragrant burning in the house just calms me. If not a candle there may be a stick of incense or some scented oils. 

I also use cleaning products during my daily routines that have wonderful scents like lavender, orange clove, or natural pine - I truly believe it makes the daily chores just a little bit easier when there's a bit of aromatherapy involved. 

Add some peaceful music and the pups dozing by the fire and all's right in my world. 

These are things that help me in my daily world. You have to find your own sweet spot, your own things that help you calm your soul. 

And when you find those things, make sure to take the time daily to give your soul what it needs. 

It's as important as breathing. 

Girly Girl with Power Tools

It's a dangerous combination, don't you think?

A girly girl with power tools and a can-do attitude? 

My mom always said I was like a bull in a china shop. And as stubborn as the day is long. 

That may be the case, but it has served me well in life. 

When something needs to be done I will try to tackle it on my own whenever possible. 

Unless it involves a power saw of any type. That's not happening. I'm even more afraid of power saws than I am of ladders, if you can believe it. 

Anyway, this was another busy, busy weekend. Aren't they all? Not enough hours in the day, I say. 

The temps were in the 50's so I wanted to work out in the garden.  However, after spending two hours on the phone with Verizon trying to repair the issue with my internet (don't get me started!!) I headed out to the garden only to find.....it was drizzling. 

Oh well. 

Back inside to tackle a few projects that were bugging me. 

See this? This is my wall hung jewelry cabinet that 1. Does not close. At all. Not a chance. 

And 2. Always has a pile of scarves hanging over the door, for lack of a better place to put them. 

Which is not why it doesn't close, believe it or not. 

There were also scarves sticking out of various fabric bins in my walk in closet. 

Did I mention how much I love, love, LOVE my walk in closet? 

Oh, no? 

Well, I do. Almost as much as I love cheese. 

Anyway. I decided I had to do something about it. I knew what I wanted to do....just not where. 

And then one night in the wee hours when I couldn't sleep I figured it out. 

This is where it had to happen. Right on these dividers between the hanging space and the shelves. 

Drapery hooks! The perfect thing for holding scarves!! I picked up two of these at Lowes....and there was one more that looked similar that I was in the house when I bought it. 

About 15 minutes with my handy dandy Black & Decker drill & screwgun and I was a happy camper!

Check this out - perfect!! Now, don't even think for one second that this is my entire scarf collection....no siree, Bob!!

However, at least it takes care of the ones I use most often, or that have just been worn and need a place to hang out (ha ha, yes pun intended) until they get put away. 

The third hook got used to take some of the pressure off the poor Jewelry cabinet. 

Seriously, look at that door - not a chance it's going to ever close unless I remove a bunch of the bulkier items out of there! It's not even close. 

Well, after pulling out about a million of my costume jewelry necklaces and hanging them on the new drapery hook the door can close again - hooray!  That hasn't happened in years....well, with the exception of when it was empty on moving day. 

I love the way it looks now when I look into my closet - not only is the chandelier sparkling but the light catches the necklaces also!

Such a girly girl I am!

While I had my tools out, I took care of a little problem my daughter had in her room. 

This was her hook rack in her bedroom. It was here when we moved in....but it had four hooks, not just one. 

I guess they weren't that strong.....they snapped off one by one. 

A little while later she was back in business. 

All it needs is  a little touch up paint and we're golden. Easy peasy. 

It makes me feel good to not only be able to do these little projects myself but also to teach my daughters how to do them at the same time. 

I hope you also did something this weekend that makes you proud!

Happy Monday, Friends!

A Day of Organizing

In anticipation of the busy holiday season ahead I spent the day today organizing some 'behind the scenes' spaces in my house. 

When I moved in (back in April) there were a few areas that weren't organized properly to start with. The house was under construction for a long, LONG time so as I was unpacking I was sticking things in here and there, wherever they fit. 

Now I've been trying to re-do those spaces. To make them work more efficiently, now that I know the house better. 

However, I was NOT feeling it today. This was a busy, busy week with only 1 day off work and that doesn't sit well with me at all. I really need 2 days off in order to be able to take care of everything I need to do around here. 

I felt a little overwhelmed and didn't know where to begin. I  knew I had to spend some time on my pantry - it had gotten out of control and I needed to take everything out and start from scratch. 

So I turned to Pinterest for some inspiration! 

Via

Isn't it amazing how seeing a beautifully organized space can inspire you to get up off your butt and get busy?

This is a dream pantry. 

Mine is not. However, I'm lucky to have one so I'm not complaining!

Via

I browsed around for a while finding motivation and inspiration and then got up and opened the door to my pantry. 

Sigh. Here we go. 

This is what I started with today. 

And this. 

Pretty, right?

Yup. Real life, right there.

Maybe it's not as bad as some but it was definitely not working for me. 

I am absolutely a bit of a neat-nick as I told you here and here. Oh, and also here.  

I need to be able to open doors and drawers and see things lined up neatly and efficiently....not this jumble of bags and boxes and random stuff. 

I started with an over the door shoe organizer I found downstairs that wasn't being used anywhere else at the moment. 

And then I took just about everything out of the pantry and spread it out on the counters. Anything that was out of date got tossed, and everything else went back in....but better. 

The shoe bag was great for gathering some smaller items together where we can find them easily. 

PS - do you think we really NEED 8 containers of nut butter? 

Hmmmm. 

After about an hour or so I had things under control. 

Those little red bins with the labels were actually already in there...buried behind a pile of other bags and boxes. 

The basket on the left is full of containers that hold puppy treats. Spoiled, much?

The little set of drawers under the basket holds backup puppy treats and k-cups for my Keurig. 

Let's face it...running out of either would be a catastrophe. 

It felt so good to get that done I went on to organize the linen closet and tidy up the fridge. 

Whew! I feel much better now! 

Organizing the Garden Cottage

My garden cottage has been a work in progress since I bought the house back in April. 

I absolutely loved the fact that I would have a whole separate space for all my gardening tools, pots, soil, etc - it was a great selling point for me. 

However.....when I closed on the house and finally got in there to take a look around...I fell right through the floor. It was a hot mess. 

Don't get fooled by the photo above...that was taken after we put a ton of work into this building. 

I wrote about Phase I of the garden cottage improvements back in this post  and then shared Phase II in a second post, which you can view here. 

Since then, there have been other updates to the garden cottage - one is still in progress, so stay tuned on that one - and one was a very nice surprise from my sweetie. 

I woke up one morning in September to see this outside my bedroom window - Sweetie was having the grungy old skylight replaced in the shed - what a treat to have all that sunshine in there! And when I want to start seeds in the potting shed it will definitely help out!

We couldn't even see out of the old skylight - my sweetie tried his hardest to clean it up but it was too far gone. What a difference the new skylight made! This is what it looked like back in September, the morning after installation. 

And what it looks like now in November. 

And since it's November it's time for me to gather up the rest of the garden pots, clean them out, and store them for the winter. I knew I needed more storage - Brad's Daily Deals to the rescue again!!

I had this small metal rack for quite a few years - it has stored flowerpots in two previous homes and was my only shelving in the potting shed. As you can see, it was already overflowing and I still have a bunch of pots outside the shed that need to be cleaned out and stored. 

So when Brad's had these shelves on a daily deal for about $30 each shipped from Walmart I jumped on the deal and ordered two. 

I should have ordered more! These can be used so many different places!!

Next time. 

Anyway, yesterday when I was puttering this was on my list of tasks to complete. I put the shelves together (which was super simple!) and started organizing the pots and gardening supplies that were scattered all around the shed. 

The last project I completed in the dying afternoon light was to rehab my potting bench. It's been on my to-do list for months now and I decided to tackle it right then and there. 

I found a can of deck stain the previous owners had left behind - we haven't been able to figure out where this was used, it must have been something they used prior to the colors that are on the house and deck now. 

But I always hold onto this kind of thing. You never know when you might need it!

When I finally went inside the house to make dinner the shed was in much better shape and the potting bench was drying. 

It was too dark for any decent photos. However it was just the right time for a cocktail!

This morning I headed back out with my camera and froze my little buns off to take a few photos to share with all my blogland friends. 

Look at how lovely and organized my potting shed is now! Do you have any idea how happy this makes me?

Yes, I know I'm pathetic. I can't help it. 

The mulch and moo-doo organic veggie garden soil has been stored in the deck box under the window....which doubles as a nice resting spot when I'm working in here. 

My clay pots and other outdoor pots are all stacked neatly on the small original rack along with the saucers. Having everything stacked by size makes it so much easier for me to find and grab what I need. Also makes it easier to keep things tidy because it's so much simpler and quicker to put items right back where they belong. 

The rack in the far corner holds a few plants I'm hoping will survive the winter. Also some buckets and other tools, lime, organic food for the veggie garden, and other various bits and pieces. The metal boxes on the top will go back on the potting bench for easy access on a daily basis come spring - they hold my gloves and small tools. 

The rack right across from the potting bench holds my houseplant pots as well as some larger garden pots. The top rack has all my self-watering hanging planters and some other lightweight garden pots. 

It's so easy to see exactly what I have now and just looking at everything lined up all neat and tidy makes me smile. 

I still have some things I'd like to do in here - for one thing, I'm going to dig through my bins of old curtains and hang some cute little curtains on the windows. 

I'd like a little chair in here to watch the rain on a spring day. 

I'm thinking of getting a rolling plant rack that I can put in front of the rear French doors - perhaps I can keep my violas alive until the spring if I bring them in now. I'm not sure....but it's worth a try. 

Other than that? Who knows!

But for now....I'm loving my organized little garden cottage. It's come a long, long way since that first day we fell through the floor. 

The Princess Room

Friends of ours came over for a visit the other evening and when they saw my master bath they immediately christened it The Princess Room. 

So The Princess Room it shall remain!!

Hey - why not? Every girl dreams of being a princess at some point in her life!

I first brought you in here when I showed you my Master Suite about a million years ago. 

Ok, only 3 months ago. I might have exaggerated a tad. 

Well, today I'm going to give you a peek even further into the inner sanctum...the stuff you always want to peek at when you use someone's restroom....come on, don't lie - you know you always want to open the medicine cabinet!

Maybe that's just me. Sorry. I can be nosy. 

Continuing with the Clutter Busters....here are my tips on keeping my Princess Room organized. 

I wanted a vanity all my life. It was high on my must-have list when designing this space. It's such a luxury to be able to sit down and take my time with all my little beauty routines. And let's face it, after 40 the routines take longer and longer each year. Wahh!

I like to have everything right at my fingertips when sitting at my vanity, but without being "cluttered." This marble tray that I picked up at Sierra Trading Post for about $3 does an incredible job. The coordinating marble cup holds my makeup brushes. 

I have two of these rotating cosmetic organizers, one on either side of the marble tray - they hold my cosmetics and they spin around so I can see what I have. And let's face it - I have a LOT of products. A ton. I have always been that kind of girly-girl. These organizers came from Joss & Main.  Love that place!

In the vanity cabinets I have these mesh roll out organizers - there are two in each vanity which keeps everything so nicely organized. 

Yes, I'm a bit of a neatnik. I admit it. These kind of things make me very happy. 

There's actually no medicine cabinet in this bathroom - I couldn't put a recessed one in over the sinks as it's an exterior wall and all the products inside would freeze in my climate. And I didn't like the medicine cabinets that aren't recessed - I felt like they would stick out way too much and I would bang my face on them when washing up! So, medicines are kept in the medicine cabinet in the guest bath....and I don't mind one bit if you peek when you come to visit! 

I loved the fact that these vanities had such a large drawer underneath - however, it led to challenges in keeping things organized. This deep drawer organizer is awesome, I love it. And these Ikea storage boxes are perfect to organize the drawers as well. I ordered 2 sets of these and used them elsewhere in the master suite as well. 

This rolling organizer holds some items I use regularly such as contacts, vitamins, face wash, etc as well as taller items that don't fit under the sink. I told you how much I love these organizers and gave you a link to buy one for yourself when I told you all about my Kitchen Clutter Busters.  I actually ordered this one for next to my washer to hold laundry detergent but it was too narrow for the bottles I buy - but it worked out perfectly right here. 

I absolutely adore the tub I had put in however I limit the amount of times I use it due to the fact that I have a well and septic. That just makes the times I indulge all the more special! I go all out - I light all the candles, put on some relaxing spa music, and have a glass of wine - there's nothing like it!!

When we were putting in the tub my contractor asked me if I wanted a little recessed area for products and the answer was a resounding YES. More space for products? That's a no-brainer for me. 

I chose the same stone as the fireplace to back the recessed area. It's the perfect spot for the products I use in the tub. And everything has a lavender scent to make the experience even more relaxing!

My bath salts are kept neat and tidy and ready for action right next to the bath in an old ceramic container that came from a floral arrangement. It's just the right size to fit between the tub edge and the wall - who knew that holding on to these odd items would work out so well in my new house?

In the shower I put a tension organizer in one corner to keep all my shower supplies handy. 

The model I chose is from Simple Human and it's terrific! It got wonderful reviews and I completely understand why.  It's so sturdy and has 3 adjustable shelves plus hooks, razor holder, toothbrush holder, and soap dish. I bought mine at Bed, Bath & Beyond with a 20% off coupon. It was the best deal I found on this item anywhere - and it's worth every penny! All the reviews say it doesn't rust - that was a huge selling point for me right there. 

Across from the vanity my contractor built in shelving to store additional supplies. The width and height of the shelves was decided based on the amount of space that was left after everything else was installed and it couldn't have worked out better if we planned it this way!

I already had 6 of these fabric boxes that I was using elsewhere. I was originally going to get baskets for the bathroom shelves but when I tried out one of these on the shelves it was just too perfect! I bought mine at Home Decorators with a coupon code. 

Did you notice that there is usually a coupon code happening with me? Yup, I admit it. I hate to pay full price for anything!

These over-door hooks are wonderful - I have them EVERYWHERE. Seriously. Addicted. 

All these organizers not only keep the bathroom looking fairly tidy at all times but make my morning routine so much easier. Even on Mondays!

I don't have to go looking for anything. I know exactly where every item is. Things I use morning and night are right at my fingertips. 

And at the end of the day, that's what makes this space even more beautiful. It's amazingly functional. 

What's better than that?