Days 12-17

I think I gave you a fair warning that suddenly now that I "have" to blog every day, I just don't want to.  It's kind of funny, actually.  I've been busy though--so I promise to keep up with my 31 days of change! It has actually been SUCH a good thing for me to commit to.  It's a snail's pace but I am making huge strides and I am feeling more and more in control of my environment and that makes me feel awesome.  I read this today:

 "American women spend 55.2 minutes a day looking for things, according to a study Real Simple conducted in 2003.  Those 55.2 minutes per day add up to a staggering 14 days per year."  - Real Simple The Organized Home.

Wow.  It feels like that sometimes.  I'm trying to think about how many fun things I could spend my time on if I wasn't wasting it trying to find something! I've seriously been inspired every single day this month.  Here are my latest projects:

I'm the Primary Chorister for Senior Primary and I don't know why it took me so long to get organized but this has saved me! I used to just carry a big bag around and have to dig through all my stuff.  No.  Not effective and not easy.  This is SO much better.  Plus, now that I'm obsessed with making labels, I got to make a fun one for the container.

I know this doesn't look like a project, but it is.  I fixed this lamp (thank you very much) and put it next to our bed and even this looks kind of lame--it is on its way to beauty.  I'm thinking about just putting some cute fabric around the edge.  Thoughts? Want to see what I was using as a bedside table before this?

 This.  It doesn't have a lot of surface area and there definitely wasn't room for a lamp.  We brought it out to the family room and it now keeps track of our remotes (assuming we actually put them in the basket) and you won't believe how excited I got about the fact that we can put our first-aid stuff in the blue storage basket and keep it hidden).  Plus, it matches our couches. Bonus.  And finally, the DVD cases on the bottom holds all our movies. It fits perfectly, eh? I was geeking out.  I'm still not sure what to put up on that top shelf b/c it's such a small space.  But I know it will come to me.  Or you can suggest something.  Ideas?

First Aid Supplies that were just randomly stuck in a box that had no home. Now they are organized and I know what we actually have and what we need.  That's one thing I'm learning as I go--if something doesn't have a HOME, it will float...and turn into a huge mess.  I am loving that I'm creating very specific spaces and places for our belongings.  We don't have super nice things or matching furniture (except Cole's room, heh) but I can still make our home a nice place to be.

Thank you D.I. for existing

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I got this beauty for $20.00 yesterday and even though it's not done, I have a plan for it and I'm excited.  It is in a spot that was bare and needed something.  Plus, we need all the storage options we can get! I think it originally had doors that closed in front of the big open space because we wanted to move the shelf down so that it was halfway but there are only holes drilled in the front and not towards the back.  Hope that makes sense.  So until Danny has time to add some holes and we can adjust the shelf to look less lame--here it is for now. It's the perfect place for our stereo and I've got some storage underneath that can be hidden if necessary :) I'm still trying to decide what I want to put there...

Next Up: Party Time

We like to have a good time here.  I have a lot of wrapping supplies, decor for parties and other random birthday stuff that I wanted to put together.  I started with the basics...

Then added some more stuff (including all the stuff we used for Cole's party which I just realized I haven't blogged about yet...) and slapped a lid on it--and slid it nicely under our bed.

I even have another empty Tupperware container for under the bed and as soon as I get more things from the office organized--it will be filled and labeled :)

 I also found the next couple things from the D.I. that I can't wait to utilize.  This shelf seems pretty basic, but our office is uber lame.  No decor to speak of and that's just not right.  Just wanted to show you the before picture because I'm going to try something more than just paint it. Wish me luck!

Secondly, this beauty.  I've never owned a bread box...but I feel like it's appropriate now that I'm 31 years old to have one.  This one needs some love.  But I like the idea of hiding the bread away and decreasing the look of clutter on the counter top.

Isn't it cute?

 I have a lot of work to do but just looking over the last 17 days worth of projects, I am really proud of myself for taking on this commitment because it has been very fulfilling and the month is only half way over!

I promised Cole he could play on the computer for a while so I'm going to wrap this up.  Later, friends!