organization – Desired Haven Farm

The Great Bedroom Changeover

Every few years it seems we have to do a great bedroom changeover! We’ve been at it again this month and it has taken all month.

First our 19 year, as he jokingly put it, was being kicked out to the tool shed. He isn’t ready to move out and we didn’t want him to, so this is a perfect solution. It’s a bit of his own space but still with family and good food nearby.

He really made it his own space and we just love it. Not too bad for a tool shed, I’d say!

In the house we had five kids in one bedroom and while it is a large room, the girls and boys needed to be separated. There was way too much of mom waking up to fighting and screaming. So Elliot’s old room got a makeover and the girls have a pretty sweet little spot now.

I repainted and Andrew put trim up that’s been missing since the tornado four years ago. Then I repainted all the trim. Dottie and Eloise got to paint a letter and butterfly to hang on their walls and I just love their own sweet touch to the room. I still have to choose some things to hang on the other wall but at least they have their own room now!

Last but not least the boys’ room needed an update. It hadn’t been painted in years, the trim had never been painted since we moved in and there was still no trim around the window. Their room was a bit more challenging because they were in it so their beds were pushed to the center while I painted.

It’s still missing a piece of trim and we need to hang some things on the wall but again, at least they have a nice, organized place to sleep and play.

My goal was to finish by the end of February and I just eked it out! Guess I still have to go to Hobby Lobby for some cute wall decor…aw shucks!

I’m thankful for the blessing this house is to our family. I try to never take it for granted that we have this desired haven.

Digging Out

After three weeks of serious illness in our house, we’re finally healthy. Now it’s time to dig ourselves out!

Three weeks of illness in a large family doesn’t mean you get three weeks behind. It multiplies exponentially and quickly! If I cancelled three weeks worth of activities, playdates, appointments, and school, it’s not like I have three free weeks in which to fit it all after we’re better. Oh no, it just piles on top.

Guaranteed some things are just gone, fallen by the wayside never to be retrieved. It just happens. I got to the point where I was just happy there weren’t kids puking, piles of laundry ready to topple on me, and fresh food in the fridge again. The rest didn’t matter.

One thing that unfortunately happens is stuff gets set places, random places. Things get piled to be dealt with later and things get lost. I just found an envelope that was supposed to go in the mail a month ago…oops.

The worst of the worst is always our school room/ office space. It’s like a magnet for attracting all the things and then effectively losing all the things! So, needless to say, it got pretty bad. Okay, REALLY bad!

Before I show you photos, I need to tell you that minimalism is really, really beneficial in times like these. Though my office was a nightmare, it only took about 2 hours to put it to rights again. Before I learned how to pare down, it would have taken days. Truly.

Here’s how it started this morning. I cringed just walking into this room. The kids had to walk on rice and beans (from busy bins) and climb over stuff to find their school books. I felt so claustrophobic in here.

You can totally tell kids’ personalities by their cubbies. It cracks me up every time. I have some really neat children and some, well, not so neat by nature. But once the floor was clean they all came in and tidied their shelves.

After a couple hours, I’d say it’s passable again. I would love to have less stuff in this room but we really do use the majority frequently. The books on the shelves aren’t all used every year, but I have a lot of homeschooling years left so I’m not willing to part with it all yet. But, every spring I do go through each item and decide if it’s still worth keeping. And now, at least we can walk in here and find our school stuff!

Nice, clean shelves for school. Now that everyone is feeling better, it’s back to the books. At least for the morning hours. We’re all feeling the spring fever in a big way and are loving these warm afternoons.

Nature is calling and we must go! But, when we do hit the books at least we can FIND the books!

Mamas, this is your encouragement. Just do something. Pick a room, grab a garbage bag, broom, and a donate box. Clean it out and make it usable. And if, like me, you are feeling buried because of circumstances, take heart. You can get there a bit at a time! It feels so good in our office again!

Cold Weather Projects

Cold weather has set in here in good ole Minnesota. And usually once it’s here, it stays awhile. We never see spring when we want to, just whenever Minnesota feels like thawing. Not only is it cold, it’s dark. Like dark a lot. At about 4pm it feels like we should have a late dinner and call it a night. And then you look at the clock and realize there’s a whole lot more day left.

I used to despise this time of year. It gave me depression and I always felt a complete lack of energy. But I’m learning it’s a time for slowing down. It’s ok to go to bed early like the sun does. It’s ok to pull out the crafts and good movies. It’s perfectly acceptable to slow everything down. And, honestly, it’s good for us.

Lately I’ve been organizing drawers, cupboards,and closets.

These cabinets were driving me nuts. The bags just never stand up and they were always getting rearranged.

I went down the Aldi Aisle of Shame (admit it, you do it). And I found some great storage containers for a good deal. That was the catalyst and it snowballed from there.

But now…I really love these spaces and they are much more functional.

I had some containers, bought the ones from Aldi, and completed the project with some bins from Walmart.

And, no organizing project is complete without cute labels!

While it’s cold and dark out, turn on some tunes, light some candles, and get to those projects that have been bothering you! They make you feel so good!

A Livable Kitchen

I started a project a few weeks ago, and yes, it’s taken me that long to finish! I used to be so task oriented that once I started a project I couldn’t stop until I’d finished. But over the years, I’ve learned a few things.

One, kids don’t wait for projects to be finished before they get hungry. So, if I want 10 hangry children I should keep going, but if I want peace and sanity I better cook supper!

Two, people are more important than tasks. Some people are naturally people oriented. I see that gift in some of my kids and I thank God for it. My hubby has it too. But I don’t. Not naturally anyway. I’ve had to train myself over the years to put people before tasks. So, if you are task-oriented, there’s hope!!

Three, if I wait until I have enough time to complete a large project, it’ll never get done. I have to just start it and know it’ll have to be done in steps. Sometimes that’s really frustrating, but in the end the project still gets done. It just might take a little longer.

So, I decided to minimize my kitchen. I have been watching “The Minimal Mom” on YouTube and she has been so inspirational. I decided to give it a try. We did bedrooms first and I partially went through some other rooms in the house. The kitchen was daunting though so I kept putting it off. Finally, I just thought, if I don’t start this I’m going to regret it.

See, my ultimate goal is to get my house under control before summer so I can enjoy outside projects and gardening without coming inside to a disaster. And less stuff means less disaster. It just does.

So, here’s a photo gallery of what I did! I ended up with 4 big boxes to put in the garage sale and 4 bags of garbage!! How did that much stuff fit in my kitchen???!!!

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After

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After – spices are labeled on the lids and alphabetized…saves me so much time!

Before – with unfinished dishes
After!

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After – I am loving a clean fridge! My family about died when I got rid of all the magnets!

Lest anyone think it’s actually done…

I did clean out the cupboards in this but my last project is to remove the mail from the kitchen. This has become a catch all and it drives me nuts! So, I plan to implement another of Dawn’s ideas in my office and hang clipboards in there for mail and ongoing paperwork and get it out of the kitchen. So, it’s a work in progress, but the progress I’ve made feels so good.

And, honestly, I’m still baffled at how four boxes and four bags of trash came out of those cupboards!!!

Here’s the links to the videos that inspired all this work. She has many more great ones too!