::My Laundry Journey::

{Please stick with me! This is a long post. You’ll love the ending, I promise.}

I had no idea that a peaceful laundry room could change your life. Let me tell you…It can! I used to moan about laundry. Clothes were always around the house in various degrees of dirtiness, cleanliness or somewhere between the two. I never knew which was which and I was forever dragging multiple laundry bins up and down and all around–making my head spin!

Until I wandered unto The Masked Mommy blog. She claimed the month of January to get her head on straight about the “loch ness laundry” in her home. So did I!

The Laundry Room

We replaced our washer and dryers this past fall (this is an old photo, in case you were wondering why I had no laundry machines)

This, That & The Other Thing (Laundry and contents of the laundry room)

Clearing Out

The Reveal

The Details

I need to be surrounded with fun and inspiring things or I start to curl up and die….seriously, I think a part of me dies when clutter chokes out beauty. So, to create a little beauty, I put up a few helpful sayings (first saying shown, was made out of another salvaged game piece), hung a piece of art, and tacked up mistreated curtains. I created a spot with a re-purposed Clementine crate to capture laundry necessities. My new lamp redo has been a warm and delightful addition, to the bare bulb, that previously was the only light fixture it the room.

The How

Dirty: We have one laundry hamper basket upstairs at the end of the hallway. Yes, I said ONE! Everybody has committed to put their clothing in the hamper basket–every time! When the hamper basket is full (about everyday) it gets picked up and sorted into the laundry room bins. The basket gets put right back where it came from, cause I swear, there will already be another piece of dirty clothing waiting for a place to go.

I posted 6 “No” signs, in various patterns of red scrapbook paper, around the bedrooms and hallway. No More DUMPING! Just Say No! I hope this will help my family get a grip to clear-up the hall so we don’t trip on stuff in the dark anymore.

Laundry Bins: Each laundry bin is labeled by load description. I have space for 9 tall skinny sorting bins. (I have 3 bins and I am just filling in with what I have until I save up for some more). These bins never move unless it is to empty its contents into the washer.

Clean: I have one larger laundry basket for Clean Clothes Transportation (CCT). Clean items get a ride in the CCT to go back upstairs. Ideally, I would like to fold or hang something, only if, I can put it directly into the dresser or closet. Of course, if my four year old is helping, other arrangements will be made. This is my weakest link so we, Neat Pete and I, are going to see how we can use some teamwork in the next few weeks to iron out the details. {really, did I just make that pun? so sorry}

The Storage: I always leave empty space when I redo a room. I always need some free “places” to grow. I added a wall mounted wire basket holder and a rolling rack for household items like garbage bags, tape and soap. The blue bins are filled with art supplies and activities for the kids like finger paints, play-doh and paper.

The Comparison: If you are like me you scrolled up and down a bunch to see the before photo and the reveal photo, one after the other, okay, so maybe you aren’t as big of goof-ball as I am, but just in case…

Ta-Dah!

Baby Boy’s Nursery Lamp Redo

Can I, as a blogger, do anything anymore, without making a docu-drama out of it? Without the hint of a major blog-dom project party to link posts to, do other, non-bloggers, actually DO projects without their camera? Hmmm…..

Thanks to the draw of one such a project-post blog party, called Laundry Party Pow-Wow (hosted by The Masked Mommy), I have completed the little lamp that could project for my laundry room. {See, I knew sparing this lamp from entry into 2 years worth of garage sales would pay off…I just knew it.}

So, in the spirit doing projects, with a camera ever ready at ones side….here is a look at my nursery lamp redo.

While doting on my little lamp that could, I got hooked on lamps. I have always loved the warm feeling a shaded lamp offers vs. the harshness of overhead lighting. But, I never even thought about placing a lamp in my laundry room. In fact, I may have made fun of people with lamps on top of their washer.

That was before. People change, right?

Here are some de-light-ful inspirations that will get you hooked too:

Bless Our Nest has a mud-room dryer light and more.

Shabby Nest, lets her lamp tell it’s own tale.

Need a shade tutorial? Check out this super stylish black and white lamp from Candlyn, a Design Sponge reader.

I may have become just another somebody to laugh at, with my lamp-age all a glow on the washer. But, I am hooked on lamps in the laundry room.

To see what other people are hooked on this week, check out Hooked on Houses, cause she is having a Mr.Linky Party called Hooked on Fridays.

I am so blessed to have a warm place to call home during these cold winter months. I am safe, sound, and generally welcomed in my home (Lord help us! Mama is throwing frying Pans Made with Steel again!).

But, what happens when home doesn’t feel warm? What if home feels like the fangs of  used books, junk piles and spoiled paint cans are ‘closing in’ for a bite?  Or what if it curiously smells like old coffee and sharpie marker ink in the laundry room, on a good day?

It can stay that way.

OR

I can do something.

What a unique place, our homes, where we can define, design, and dally in a space without reason or with a million reasons.  To me “doing something” simply means, taking a chance to make an impact while harnessing my behavior, teaching it to value what it is I am doing.

Here to Hoping…

Here is a photo taken in the middle of my “doing something” to the laundry room. I have been taking a chance, all day, amping up this room in time for The Masked Mommy’s first ever Laundry Room Pow-Wow that is on February 1st!

I am so excited to share at the Pow-Wow about my room, my hopes, and my first ever fabric mistreatments, with a bunch of other bloggers, that needed to “do something” with their own life direction (or maybe just a new decor ).

It’s a heatwave…a tropical heatwave!

Just Kidding! If we make it to the weekend, without rising above 32 degrees F., Minnesota will have the fourth month on record, since the 1880s, to not have a single day above freezing.

When the air is colder than cold, and the sun is brighter than bright, just upon the mere suggestion to go play outside, you will get a “you have got to be kidding me” look. As seen below.

So we hibernate…(Molly in cave on left and Ryan in space ship on right)

Here is a run down, of some silly indoor things, we do to prevent the winter blues and nature deficit disorder from running rampant in our home.

1. We bring snow into the bath tub, cause baby it’s cold outside!

2. We use a bread loaf pan full of lentils for a sandbox and spoons for shovels

3. We wear our coats indoors to blow bubbles out of the patio door.

5.  We watch TV together. Our current fav is Sid the Science Kid on PBS. Hey at least we are learning about nature!

6. We hibernate some more. Hamper kennels for kids that think they are puppies and act like animals.

7. We exercise with extreme games of make believe, hide-n-seek and follow-the-leader. Jump Up! Get Down! Get Silly!

I look forward to the days of sprinklers in the lawn, freeze-pops on the front step and sweaty games of tag. But for now we are getting above this miserable, below freezing, just enough, to see the fun in it!

How do you beat the winter blues and nature deficit?

I am inspired by a photo series, morning, noon and night, produced by the blog, beauty that moves.

I thought I’d give it a go…

morning, noon and night

truly,  just a blink

Julia, from a blog called Hooked on Houses, hosts a “Hooked On” party every Friday. Readers share what they are hooked on each week. I am hooked on play rooms and spaces for children.

My recent attic closet to playroom transformation has been such a crucial infusion of play space into our 1000 square foot town-home.

Here are some other kid empowering spaces that I’ve found in blog-land.

1. Wall art made from Ida Pearle alpha cards from a blog called Luckybeans. How fun would be, as a kid, to have a exercise ball in your room? Very cool.

2. The Explore Room at This Vintage Chica is definitely worth a click to visit, drool, and copy!

3. I am hooked on a flickr pool called “Go to Your Room!” Kids at Home. Check out this deliciously colorful room (posted in the flickr pool by Angelique.)

How to Make an Old Closet into a Play Room in 9 steps

• Note: I’ll spare you the real before photo of our pre-attic closet disaster,  and go straight for the cute photos of how to make room for the play room. I know, it hurts my before-and-after loving gene, not to have documentation of my over burdened and buried craft table, and general dumping ground for stray belongings, but I will move on; mostly because I did this “transformation” on such a whim I forgot to take a photo. Most of you have already skipped to the rest of the blog post by now anyway.

1. Pile. Is it just my house or are your toys fertile and multiply? (kids’ room)

2. Sort. Plastic bins, plastic bins, plastic bins…oh sorry, I was busy rehearsing my organizing mantra. Isn’t my little helper so cute? Give, keep, sell…give, keep, sell…give, keep, sell…oops, there I go again!

3. Claim. This room is one 4 year old lying down by one 1 1/2 year old lying down. Nice square footage. I’ll take it; have my people talk to your people.

4. Gather. Move stuff around, aka fluff your nest, it is so much fun!

5. Conceal. Hi there attic! Wanna play hide-n-seek? Okay, you hide first. Good.

6. Learn. Making room for the play room includes making room for learning. The vintage ABC and 123 quilt was hung in my nursery when I was a wee one. Are the 70′s considered vintage yet? None-the-less, the vintage quilt, aka attic concealer, is a great tool for learning and general cheeriness.

7. Sit. {whimper, sigh!} Why did I let this a.dor.a.ble step bench be cluttered in old taxes and fall decor for waaaay too long? Well, no guilt, just pleasure now. I love the littleness of this space! Place a few books around to promote reading.

8. Add a family photo board in the playroom. It provides friendly faces to look at when Mommy  puts the baby-gate up outside her own room and instructs everyone it is now “Play Time” just so she can blog. er…I mean, because when kids look at the familiar faces, it encourages family connectivity, creativity and community.  Yeah, that’s it!

9. Relax and enjoy your hard work! Play!

• Blue tinted 1% milk
• Purple “berries” from Berry Kix
• Dried blueberries
• Grape Jell-O
• Grape jelly in tortilla
• Blueberry yogurt with a fruit snack

This muffin tin (cupcake liner) lunch added a much needed levity to our day. Pencil on the wall, book torn apart, car doors being locked…oh my!

Thank goodness for sunshine and artificial colorant!

For more Muffin Tin Meals go to Junior Mints and Reeses.

Yeah! Yes, Yes, So Wicked Awesome! I am doing the River Dance with a raise the roof (yes, I am that big of a dork) over here.

I finally did it! What, you ask?

• Did I finally finish my bathroom before & after? No.
• Did I have paint my junk dresser and install new hardware? Not exactly.
• Oh, I know! I have completed Baby Step #1 from Financial Peace University. Nope.
• Have I sent out the photo I owe to a dear Heart for Art winner, from ages & 1/2 ago? Wince. No.
• Okay, did I at least finish the dishes before blogging? ha-ha-ha, what? Certainly not.

What I did do today was way better than all of my to-do list combined. I did, stillness. I am not talking about meekness, studiousness, or even quietness. Just stillness, simple as can be.

Let me give you the background.

Today, both kids napped…at the same time. I always thought, that if such a day where to ever occur, I’d have miraculously delicious plans of solitude…with coffee, books, paint canvas, my camera, music, fireplace (duh, I don’t even have one of these), chocolate, or at the very least a glass of wine and a chance to empty the dishwasher, without someone crawling in it! Instead…a peaceful reflection.

photo credit Designs of Life

I Found Stillness Today by Jess McWilliams

I found stillness today, rather stillness found me

It found me just in time, for wintry shadows of a bright sunset to dance across my wall

I welcomed stillness in to stay; stillness warned the time will pass, so just sit and be

It stayed bundled with me, as I shared a dreamy slumber with my child of 4 years in all

I pleaded my busy heart to stillness; stillness remained quiet, so the moment I could plainly see

It asked me, though, how I’d been, for it had been awhile, since I’d seen my friend stillness call

I’ve been right here, in work and play, lonesome for you; stillness stood back and gave me a wind of warmth, much like a cup of tea

Wait stillness! I cried. Let me linger here with you. I could tell our time was through; the moon now growing tall

I held my dear little one with his awakening breaths, with gratitude for the joy I found today; stillness played it’s final note as it was meant to be