Less Christmas

I did it!  I took everything out (made a mess!) and kept what I used, needed and loved.

I started with this:

And ended up with this:

Not great, but better!  (Hello, messy office.)  I reorganized and packed like items together.  I got rid of almost 2 full bins.  I probably could have purged more, but this is a start.  The four bins on the right are ornaments for our trees (can't part with those) and the two bins on the left have room in them!

Hopefully, this will make it easier to decorate next year!  And maybe now Chad will put them away in the garage.  Hint. Hint.

Now, closets!

Decluttering Christmas

I have not gotten much done on my list.  I am in a rut.  Overwhelmed.  I came across this blog while pinning on Pinterest (which is way more fun than cleaning) and it has given me some motivation.  Basically, she is going through her entire house and purging.  Getting rid of anything that is not needed, used or absolutely loved.  She is not trying to make anything pretty right now, she is just getting rid of things.

And that is what I will do.

Starting today.

With my Christmas decorations that have yet to be put away in the garage.  I blame Chad :)

Here are my Christmas decorations.  This year I opened two bins.  Never touched the rest.  So why keep it if i don't love it, use it or need it?

So today, with the help of Miss Molly, I will go through each bin.  I will keep only what I love, use and need and donate the rest.

It is a start.  I will show you my results tomorrow.  Promise!

Then, I will tackle closets!

Looking forward

My goal for this year is to complete the projects I started last year.

And declutter my entire house.

I started so many projects last year that are so close to being done.  Most projects need just one more thing and can be called done.  So, that is what I will do - complete those projects before starting anything new.

To hold myself accountable, I am posting a list that I will check off as I finish each project.  Most likely, I will  add to this list.  When they are finally finished, I will post about them.  Yay for me!

Here is my list of unfinished projects (in no particular order):
1.  Hem curtains for Mom and Dad's house.
2.  Hem and paint Caleb's curtains.
3.  Organize Caleb's new desk.
4.  Finish Caleb's room and call it complete.
5.  Finish Olivia's canvas prints.  See above picture.
6.  Add Olivia's new bedding to her beds.
7.  Finish napkin pillows for master bedroom.
8.  Label bins in Ella's closet. 
9.  Label bins in gameroom.
10.  Add bench or bookcase to Ella's room.
11.  Organize craftroom.  Label drawers.
12.  Make window treatments for office.
13.  Finish office armoire.
14.  Hang something on walls in office.
15.  Finish organizing DVDs.
16.  Hang new shower curtain in guest bathroom.  And paint?
17.  Update recipe binder.
18.  Make chore charts for kids.  And then make them do chores.  Chad too.
19.  Organize jewelry.
20.  Sort through kids school work.  And quit saving all of it.
21.  Declutter and organize everything!


Okay, maybe the last one is a big task... but maybe if I write it, I will do it.

Wish me luck!  What are you working on?

A look back

I started this blog just over a year ago.  My plan was to show the numerous projects we worked on in the house and the many pieces of furniture we repainted and sold.  That was my plan...but, along the way I have learned that juggling everything is not easy.  And I did not do as much as I planned.  Not even close.

I did not post as often as I planned.  And what I did post, leaned toward the kiddos and things we were doing as a family.  Not the original plan, but I now have pictures to show what we did do over an entire year - and that is worth it! 

Looking back, we did get a few things done...

In JANUARY:
Mom and Dad officially took ownership of their new house. 

I showed you pictures here and here.  The tile was removed and replaced with beautiful wood floors.

In FEBRUARY:
Mom and Dad moved into their house.

Chad and Dad made Lincoln logs.  I still need to post the many creations Caleb has built with these.  He still uses them every.single.day!

And my baby turned 5.

In MARCH:
I showed you how our house was ransacked by robbers.  Okay, I showed you how my kids treat their gameroom.  Since then, the gameroom has changed and we are almost finished with it.  Until we change it.  Again.

Olivia turned 7 and joined gymnastics.

The month of APRIL started off with a bang - or crash.  My car was totalled on the way to taking the kids to school.  Luckily, no one was hurt and Donnie joined our family.

This is from my seat belt scratching/burning my neck.  I am so glad the kids were not hurt.  They still talk about this morning and Caleb always says it was "the worst day of his life."

In MAY:
We bought furniture for the kids gameroom.



Ella graduated preschool:

and Caleb turned 9!

In JUNE:
We finished installing our built in Billy bookcases:

Logan joined our family:

Mom finished decorating their house.

We upgraded our kitchen light fixture.

In JULY:
We made a twine wrapped light fixture.





In AUGUST:
We got ready for school here, here and here.  And headed to Houston for a last getaway!  See even more pictures here.

In SEPTEMBER:
Aside from the entire family being sick and being knee-deep in crazy homework, I showed you some of our painted furniture that we sold.

In OCTOBER:
We finally found dining room chairs - and refinished them.

And began to update Caleb's room.  It is almost finished.  Why is it taking me SO long?

In NOVEMBER:

We adopted sweet Molly.

In DECEMBER:
I revealed the finished dining room!

I showed you a Be Thankful banner I made just in time for Thanksgiving:

I showed you how Mom decorated their house for Christmas here, here and here!

I donated my hair:

And we had a very Merry Christmas!

It was a busy year!  Up next?  My goals for this new year!