KM Update

My house has been staying relatively clean and organized. I still have not KM'd the bedroom, basement, porch or upstairs. A lot of that stuff belongs to either my husband or kids. I have not managed to get my husband on board with going through his things. Maybe someday.

Anyways, I got rid of a few things, replaced some things and reorganized. My kitchen pantry/closet is still a mess but I managed to sell the cedar chest but now I have my library catalog in there.

I bought another clock. I currently have 15 but not all of them are mine and the ones that are, bring me joy or serve a purpose. I also bought a cute, chippy, little bird book holder.

I didn't change anything in my living room but I did sell my red chair. Although I really liked it, my son would not stop spinning on it. This did not bring me joy as I knew sooner or later, he would break it. I did redo the other side of the room (office area)

This wall used to have the table with pink baskets which served as my purse station. I had to move my computer and printer to this wall to make room for the dresser(?) I had purchased earlier this month.

I replaced my velvet deer picture with my Live, Laugh, Love photo and my calendar.

I'm trying to sell the bookcase that housed our movies. Our movies are now in this dresser. I am also using the drawers for a purse station. I sold the big bulletin/mail board that was on the wall near the window.

I moved the dog pillow from in front of the couch to behind the wicker chair.

I sold my printer table (side table) and replaced it with this wire record player stand. I paid more than I usually would have but I was really drawn to it and it serves a purpose.

I bought this globe and at first, it didn't spin. I had to sand down the stand a little and now it spins great.

Tomorrow, my son has a field trip which I'm helping to chaperone but I hope to get to my ebay room after that. Wish me luck.

Joy Sparkers

One of the principles of the KonMari method is to keep things that spark joy. This can also be applied to buying new things. You should also have a home for any items you are buying.

Both my sisters have the painting Grace in their kitchens. A few weeks back, I went to a church treasure sale and they had one. Unfortunately, the price was out of my thrifting budget. Whatever did not sell at the sale was donated to Bethesda. Today, I saw the painting for $3.99 I had to get it. My kitchen has a ton of cabinets, so there isn't much wall space. I had to hang it above the opening to  the breakfast nook.


 

Almost Finished

I have been decluttering and tidying my house using the KonMari method. Basically this method focuses on keeping items that bring you joy and finding homes for those items. I'm about finished with my downstairs except my bedroom. Most of the clutter in the bedroom belongs to my husband and when using this method, you only sort your items and no one else's. I still have the porch and basement to do but again, most of the stuff stored there is not mine. Im hoping my husband and children will catch on and want to KonMari their items.

Instead of doing photos of my finished rooms, I made a video. it is quite long (about 10 minutes) but I hope you watch it and it inspires you.

Dog Bed

I made Buddy a dog bed this afternoon. I found a bench cushion at the thrift store, took the buttons off, and put it inside a hand tied toddler blanket I had. I still need to sew the back as it was a little too wide for the cushion.

Meet Buddy

Our German Shepherd, Garrett, passed away in March. I've been kind of bummed about it and missed him terribly.

Yesterday, my dear husband came home with Buddy. he likes to think he is a lap dog. I beg to differ. he kept trying to get on the couch with me last night to sleep but I made him sleep on the floor. I don't want him thinking it is ok to be up on the furniture.

Although I just met him, I'm already in love with this little furball. He follows me everywhere but I don't mind.

Baby Steps

So, yeah I did this today. This is the first piece of furniture I have recovered. I'm hoping to paint inside the drawer part where it is trimmed and the sides the same shade of blue that is in the cushion.

It only took me 45 minutes to change this worn out fabric,

to this bright colored fabric I found at the thrift store.

There are probably 40 plus staples in the wood... I'm not even kidding.

DIY Cardboard Box Car

I'm hardly a crafty person. I can not DIY anything but Ryker wanted me to make him a car. It's pretty simple to do, even for myself.

WHAT YOU NEED:

1 big cardboard box (mine measured 20" x 15" 16")
4 small paper plates I used 7"
1 large plate I used a 10"
2 lids off a play dough can or any small lid to use as headlights
scissors
ruler
pen
hot glue gun and glue
markers, crayons and whatever else to decorate

First, cut off the two long side flaps and the back flap. You are going to make a windshield from the front flap. To make the windshield, use the ruler and draw a small rectangle on the flap. On mine, I measured 2" from the bottom, 1" from the top and 2" in on both sides.

Using the hot glue, attach the lids to the front for the headlights. Use the 10" plate for the steering wheel and the 7" plates for the tires. I let my tires stick out on the sides. I was going to use brass paper fasteners for the steering wheel and tires but I could not find any.

To make the door, you are going to cut two rectangles on each side. Only cut the top, bottom and one side and then bend the non cut side to open and close the door. (sorry, I can't think of the correct word to use) To create my doors, I measured 8" from the front, 6" from the back, 3" from the top and 1" from the bottom.

To make the window, simply cut the door in half and cut the side that wasn't cut. My window is 4" x 6"

Give your child some markers or crayons and have them decorate it. You could also paint the box first before making the car but I didn't have any paint and Ryker would not have wanted to wait for the paint to dry.

Banner Update

I need to update my banner. My dear Garrett (German Shepherd) passed away March 17. It was pretty sudden as he was fine in the morning and then by night, he could no longer walk. We gave him a week to improve but he hadn't so my husband took him to the vet and had him put to sleep. I'm still not quite over it.

Also, I only have one teenager living with me and my toddler is now a preschooler. Hopefully, I can come up with another banner soon. Thanks for reading

UPDATE: Banner is now changed although I'm going to miss my original ones.

New one I made

43 Things on My 43rd Birthday

I am two days late but saw this on Grace's blog Thrifting in the Buff  and thought I would do the same on my birthday. Hopefully, I can come up with 43 fun things about myself.

1. I have a twin sister. Her name is Sarah and I am older by about 30 minutes.
2. I have 4 children. They are all boys. They are 22, 19, 17 and 5.
3. My favorite thing to drink is Diet Coke.
4. I will order the same meal at any restaurant provided it is on the menu: chicken strips with french fries.
5. When I was younger, I wrote poetry. Some of it is published.

6. I have had stitches twice in my life. On my left foot and right arm.
7. When we were younger, Sarah and I had 2 zebra finches named E.T. and Elliot.
8. I put peanut butter on waffles. Just peanut butter because jelly would be weird.
9. I don't like people touching my things.
10. I do not drink alcohol or smoke

11. My favorite movie is Breakfast Club.
12. My aunt was a hoarder. Back then we thought it was bad housekeeping. Some days, I feel like I'm turning into one. Ebay inventory doesn't help with this feeling.
13. My favorite teddy bear was lost in a move. I bought not one, not 2 but 4 to replace him. (This contributes to my feelings of becoming a hoarder)
14. I have only been in a (fist) fight once in my life. I was about 17 and got a black eye for spitting on this douchbag I hated.
15. In my teens, I worked at a conservation camp. I secretly called it a concentration camp. I lasted a week before I quit.

16. I don't have any friends in real life that hang out with me.
17. In grade school, I dominated in track. In high school, I barely made it on Varsity.
18. My favorite ice cream is moose tracks
19. My first car was a 1979 Chevy Camaro
20. I once got a ticket for sitting in the window of a moving car.

21. My first job was cleaning at the chamber of commerce.
22. My friend and I would steal soda from the machine at my first job.
23. My first love broke my heart. A few years later, I broke his.
24. Other than giving birth, I have been in the hospital twice. Once for ear tubes when I was about 7 and the other was a kidney infection when I was about 22.
25. I can not stand liars.

26. I love vintage purses and try not to buy every one I see.
27. My favorite candy bar is peanut butter Twix
28. I do not like being hugged.
29. I have 11 tattoos. My favorite is a Banksy girl holding a balloon.
30. My mom used to call me puttsacutesy. (yeah, it's not even a word)

31. I have one granddaughter who will be 3 in a few days
32. I was on the honor roll in high school but couldn't grasp college math.
33. My first crush was a boy named Joshua in second grade. I drew him a teddy bear and wrote I love you on the bottom of the paper.
34. I had pet mice when I was 17.
35. When I was 18, I got drunk and sold my car for $200

36. I don't have a favorite color but I'm often drawn to red.
37. I believe in God but do not attend church
38. I won't buy my children second hand shoes but I have no problem wearing them myself.
39. I didn't get my driver's license until I was about 19 but drove anyways.
40. I do not own a cell phone

41. I collect Funko Pop Walking Dead figures but keep them in the box.
42. I have trust issues
43. This was really hard to come up with 43 things.

Robbie's Room After

I don't know what was worse: picking up legos, knex pieces or light brite pegs. Here is the after photo.


That is Ryker on the bed.

 I did remove this table and replace it with some wire cube shelving from my Ebay room. When I post about that room, I will point it out.

I donated a lot of hand held games and threw away the ones that didn't work. I need to go through that box of computers and make sure none are broken or taken apart but that is a task for another day.

Robbies Room Before

I haven't been very good at keeping up this blog but I have been slowly decluttering. This is Robbies room before I tackled it.

The legos all over the floor are Ryker's doing.

I love the wall papering in his closet. Too bad there isn't more wall paper like this in the house.

Tomorrow, I'll try to show the after photos.

Ryker's Room After

These are the after photos of Ryker's cleanup. It obviously did not stay this clean and it is a daily struggle to get him to put things away. I still have not had a chance to get rid of some things but I did throw away some trash and broken toys.

This is his desk. I need to go through the drawers and clean it out.

I moved the shelves from the left wall and put them on the center wall. No more struggling to get into the closet

I moved the play kitchen to the left wall and put the tool station on the inside porch. I'm trying to convince him to let me sell the tool set.

I also found some crib sheets which I have donated.

Ryker's Room Before

I actually cleaned Ryker's room a week or so ago but didn't get around to posting photos. I haven't gotten rid of anything that wasn't trash because Ryker has the memory of an elephant and remembers all the toys he has. I'm going to post only the before photos today and save the after for another post.

This desk seems to be drop off central. Everything, and I mean everything, gets dumped here. In fact, I may have to clean it again.

This is the view from the living room door. He never sleeps in his bed. He prefers to sleep on the couch in the living room. He is convinced there is a ghost in his room and I tend to believe this as I have experienced it myself.

View by his desk

These shelves are pretty much organized but they take up a lot of room. Plus they are blocking the door to the closet and it is hard for me to get Ryker's clothing out.

view from the closet