Hello There!

Well, I didn't finish the organizing challenge:(  It's been a crazy busy past few months!! 

- Our home sold way quicker than I thought!

- We actually have been living in temporary housing for the past 1.5 months.

- So we have been busy packing and moving! We used an ABF truck again. We pack and load. They drive and store the truck in your new city until you need it delivered. We had good luck with our last move, so we went with them again. 

- I also started a new job right before we put our house on the market. Like I said, crazy busy!! The past few months were jammed packed!! I applied for this teaching position job last Fall. Well, they had already filled the position when I called. I told them to still keep my name on file. The assistant they hired actually became pregnant shortly after she was hired (with twins)! Since she needed to go on maternity leave, they wanted to fill the position for the rest of the school year. They knew I was moving, but they were okay hiring me for the job. It was actually a wonderful opportunity and worked perfectly around Madison's schedule. I've been a stay at home mom for the past 7 years, so it was a little scary jumping back into it again!! It was part time, so the transition was easy. I do love my SAHM job though!! I'm not gonna lie...... My workout schedule, meal planning, and house cleaning suffered. But, I was also dealing with packing up a house and preparing to move. I'm glad the home was only on the market for about 2 weeks before it sold. We had to make sure the house was spotless before we went to bed and before we left in the mornings. Basically, I just acted like we were going to have a showing everyday before I left for work. 

                                One of my work polos

- We went house hunting this past week and found our new home. It was started by another couple,  but they fell through. The timeline of it was perfect for when we will need it later this summer, and the school district is good. The lot and house was already picked out. But, I was able to design the colors, cabinets, and flooring. I'll be sharing more soon!!

Etsy Love: CuteThingsFromJapan

CuteThingsFromJapan is such a cute Etsy shop! 

Check it out here-  CuteThingsFromJapan. 

Ayako is a pleasure to work with and she is in the process of shipping out my second order. I wanted a few more stamps:) She has more penguin stamps arriving soon, so check back soon if you like penguins.

Enclosed was a little sample stick of washi tape:) Thanks Ayako!!

I'll share part 2 of my order once it arrives! I look forward to sharing more of my favorite Etsy shops with you!

Week 2- ABFOL HOME ORGANIZATION CHALLENGE- Laundry Room

via

 

I am participating in A Bowl Full of Lemons Organizing Challenge. 

 

Here are the goals for this week to complete the organizing challenge of the Laundry Room. If you visit ABFOL'S Blog, you can take a tour of her Laundry Room. She linked it to her Week 2 post.

 

(via ABFOL Blog)

 

WEEK #2 TASK – The Laundry Room:

Complete the challenge this week & you can create a space that’s functional & visually appealing to you. 

 

WEEK #2 CHECKLIST:  (Print out the checklist HERE)

 

1. EMPTY – Empty out the ENTIRE laundry room.  Everything but the washer & dryer must go.

2. PURGE – Purge anything that doesn’t belong.  Toss empty detergent bottles, trash, donate unwanted or un-needed items and put things away.

3. CLEAN – Pull out the washer/dryer and vacuum behind it.  Clean out the dryer vent.  Wipe down the outside of the washer and dryer.  Clean out the washer. Pour 1 cup of bleach into the drum, then run a full wash cycle on the hottest setting (empty).  Wipe down all shelving, walls, baseboards, doors, switch plates & dust the light.

4. ORGANIZE – After the laundry room is clean, it’s time to put everything away.  Organize your laundry supplies, using bins, baskets, etc. Keep in mind, if you haven’t used something in the last 12 months, purge it. Don’t put it back in the laundry room.  Label each container.

Examples:

Laundry soap

Stain remover tools

Cleaning cloths

Pet items

Cleaners

Trash Bags

Mopping Pads

Cleaning Tools

Dryer Sheets

Paper Towels

Vacuum Bags

Sewing Misc.

5.  LAUNDRY – Wash, dry, fold & put away all laundry.  Finish every load!

 

6.  CLEANING CADDY – Put together a cleaning caddy.  Place all necessary household cleaners in it.

 

7. DECORATE – Finally, you can decorate your laundry room to make it more inviting.

 

Here are several blog posts that will inspire you to get your laundry room organized.

1. Laundry Room Organization – 2014

2. How to put together a cleaning caddy.

3. Laundry Room Organization – 2012

4.  Laundry Closet

5. How to clean your washing machine 

6. Daily Cleaning: The Laundry

 

Dining Room and Video Tour

I have been wanting to share interior/ finished decorating pictures of our house. During the A Bowl Full of Lemons Challenge seemed like a good time to do it! There is no week for dining room, so I decided to pop this in now. 

 

I had this crazy idea that when the whole house was clean and organized I would take pictures. Well, that never happens, lol. One day the kitchen is clean and spotless, and then the next day I plan to get the upstairs picked up, baths cleaned, floors cleaned, ect. In the mean while, the kitchen is used and cooked in, so the whole entire house never really stay "picture perfect" for long, ha! Its just easier to focus on one room at a time.  

 

Here is our dining room.

 

 

Our table and chairs were a craigslist find. We wanted a real wood table. The furniture stores didn't have exactly what we wanted. I did find a West Elm table I loved, but I had a real hard time buying something that expensive without seeing it first.

 

Our table is a very similar style and is from World Market. Unfortunately, our style isn't sold in stores anymore. This style is new and I didn't see it when we looked, its a very similar style to the West Elm one I liked. They have some others on their website. We actually almost bought this one.

 

We paid $125 for the table and bench. So worth it and I'm glad I kept looking and didn't rush into buying something else!!

 

 

 

The chairs were another craigslist steal. The lady we bought them from said they were hardly used in her formal dining room and her maid only dusted them twice a week :) SOLD! They are Pottery Barn Grayson Chairs. We bought all 4 for $400. $100 a chair isn't unreasonable for nice quality dining chairs.  If you were to buy them brand new from Pottery Barn...... 1 Grayson Chair when not on sale costs $399 per chair!!

 

We found this hutch on craigslist too. I had plans on sanding it down and refinishing it. I am not sure what I want to do with it yet. You can't really tell from the pictures, but there are some scratches and dings here and there. I will probably tackle this project later this year or in 2016.

You might recognize these floral pictures from our old home. I couldn't decide if I wanted to put a long rectangle mirror above the hutch or these. The pictures obviously won.

 

I got JR this popcorn machine for fathers day a couple years ago. We love it! We use coconut oil to cook the kernels and it smells delicious. It was suppose to be in his man cave, but some how it wound up here. You can buy it on Amazon HERE.

 

 

Yup, that is a crazy amount of drinks and our alcohol supply is not usually that well stocked, lol. We had a New Years Party and our friends brought all that on the left of the mirrored tray.  

 

 

 

My lemon tree! I HEART this tree. I has grown me 5-6 lemons and they are the best lemons I've ever had! I slice them and put them in my water. I bought it at Home Depot.

 

I traced, cut, and hung up these little decals. I love the look and privacy it provides, but it took FOREVER!!!

 

I love this light fixture. I think it really makes the room come together. Its the Hoyne Pendant Light from Crate and Barrel. You can find it HERE. This was the splurge item of this room.

 

Below is a little video tour of the kitchen and dining area. I wanted to make a video because we are actually moving!

 

Enter sad tear here;( We have amazing friends here in Albuquerque that we will miss and the weather is perfect. But, its good news too. JR got a new job opportunity and we will be moving back to Ohio. We just found out right before Christmas. We have amazing friends that we will be moving back to. Madison was born in Ohio and we lived there for 6 years, so we are familiar with the area.

 

I wish I could just pick this house up and move it. Since that will not happen, I want to at least get some house pictures and possibly do more videos. I am pretty sure this is my dream home. If it had a basement it would be perfect. Never in a million years did I think I was going to be able to design and pick out colors, tiles, and design the interior of a brand new home. When JR visited a couple years ago to go house hunting....... this house happened to be in process, and the original owners fell through. So he scooped it up. I love the open layout and it was such a blessing to be able to live here, even for a short time.

 

So, this spring our home will be for sale. We were planning on living in New Mexico for at least 4 years. If we knew we would only be here for 2 years, we would of not bought a home and would have just lived on base or rented a house. But, I guess you live and learn. We will be in Ohio for at least 7 years. JRs first assignment will be 3 years, followed by a 4 year assignment.

 

I love doing home renovations, so you may have lots of those to look forward to in the future years when I share our new home.

 

But for now, before I start packing..... I thought I'd share our current home.

 

Week 1- The Kitchen- A Bowl Full of Lemons Organizing Challenge

Kitchen Tour

This first week was an easy challenge for me. It was a good way to start out!! :) Our Kitchen is usually pretty tidy. As you can see from the pictures, our main living area is one big room. So, that forces me to try and keep it semi presentable. I did have a few drawers/ cabinets that needed some help though. Below you can see the before and after pictures of those.

Our trash can is made by Simple Human. Its about11 years old and probably one of the oldest items we have from our first home. It still looks brand new and has been though four moves. We bought it at Bed, Bath, and Beyond with a 20% off coupon. We own a few Simple Human products and they are all awesome! Click on the highlighted words to check it out!

Our Counter Stools are the Rustic Bar Stools from West Elm. You can check them out HERE. 

These are my favorite cleaners for cleaning granite counter tops. I use plain soap and water first, then Method Granite Cleaner. Its available at Amazon and Target. Shaklee is a great non harmful cleaner- I love adding pure essential oils to the cleaner. It smells so good! My favorite is peppermint and Lemon.

 

 

Madison likes to ring this Dinner Bell. I found it at Marshalls a few years ago.

 

I used to put magnets on the front of the fridge, but I noticed our old fridge was scratched a bit. But, I love the cleaner less cluttered look. So, I just keep a few things hung up on the side.

 

JR bought me this Mixer for my 30th Birthday a couple years ago. I LOVE IT! Everyone should have one!! He found it a Kohl's at a great price!

 

This is my favorite lotion- JR Watkins Lemon Lotion. It smells sooo good! You can find it at Target or HERE on Amazon.

I found this little sign at a local craft fair. I thought it was so cute! I normally dont like too much kitchen clutter. But, I had to make an exception for this. 

I made this chalkboard frame from a goodwill picture frame. 

I love decorating with plants. They are natural air purifiers and I love pops of green and life they bring into the home.

I painted this little guy at the ceramic shop :)

Okay, so here are pictures from the organizing challenge. These drawers and cabinets were not too bad.

Above the microwave is mostly candles and candle sticks.

This is Madison's cabinet, and she is in charge of it. So I just leave that one alone. She does like to organize it every few months. 

Here is where it gets out of hand........

BEFORE:

AFTER:

BEFORE: (This is junk drawer no. 1) Mostly just random school stuff and any paperwork or coupons I have to sort through ends up in here.

All this went into the Recycle bin!

AFTER: Much better!!!

BEFORE:

AFTER:

BEFORE:(Junk drawer no.2)

AFTER: DONE!

Did you participate in this weeks challenge? If so, how did you do? Its not to late to start!!! Check out my blog post a few down and get caught up!! :O) Happy Organizing!