Thursday, May 21, 2009

Organizing 101

As a former "messie girl" turned "organizing enthusiast", I know first hand how living a life filled with clutter can affect you, your family, & your home! Because my passion is helping other women Create Welcoming Homes, I'd like to start a series called:
Organizing 101 ~
"A Place For Everything, and Everything In It's Place"
I grew up with the 2 neatest, most organized parents who ever existed. How I was so messy as a teenager was beyond them! Even as a young wife and mom, I struggled with keeping control of the clutter in my home. It's not that I didn't have a CLEAN house. Oh, I cleaned and scrubbed, washed and folded, dusted and mopped......it's just that I had these little piles....piles of clutter! It's not that I was a "pack rat" either, although I had certainly married one which didn't help. My problem came from being un-organized!
Do you relate? Feel overwhelmed by the clutter in your home? I'd like to share what I have learned through the years here with you!! :)
photos from Google images

Clutter can be a result of several things:

1) Procrastinating ~ not taking care of things immediately or in a timely manner. This can include waiting to go through the mail, not putting laundry away, & tossing papers in a pile "for later".

2) Trying to "do it all", all by yourself. Let me tell you now, it just can't be done! You need the help of EVERY family member!

3) Feeling overwhelmed ~ You're so overwhelmed by it all that you figure adding one more thing to the pile won't matter. Or, you get so overwhelmed that instead of taking action, you do the opposite and "freeze up", unable to even start a small project.

4) Being a perfectionist! It's true! You feel you have to have the time or energy or space or special bins and labels to "do the job right". You end up thinking, "Without these things, why bother?" And when you do start a clutter cleaning project, you drag everything out & make an even bigger mess than there was to begin with trying to do a job "perfectly"! Then you get sidetracked or overwhelmed, and are stuck.

5) Holding on to objects for the wrong reasons.

Clutter Results In:

1) Drained Energy ~ It literally feels like you are being dragged down. It sucks the Peace out of your life.

2) Drained Time ~ Your family wastes precious time looking for keys, library books, a pair of shoes, even the chocolate chips! Time better spent feeling at peace, spent together, spent actually doing something productive with what you are looking for!

3) Drained Bank Account ~ You'll end up spending more $$ if you know you HAVE an item and can't find it, or FORGET you have an item and purchase a duplicate.

4) Children who may end up living their lives with disorganized habits as well. Habits that could affect schoolwork, family time, and in the future, jobs and home lives. {*in my opinion, if nothing else will get you to stick to keeping out the clutter, this thought should!}

Are you feeling overwhelmed by clutter? Do you have a certain area in your home that tends to collect the clutter? Do you want to know how to organize a specific place in your home?

Share it in the comments! And I'll do my best to address these things in this series!!

Next time, I'll share "How To Get Started!" :)

Wednesday, May 20, 2009

There's Something About Stacey


My friend ALVN from WhisperWood Cottage ( go check out her amazing junkin' skills and gorgeous photos!) has tagged me for a "6 Things About Me" meme!
So, here goes:
  1. My middle name is Michelle (at least it was until I made my maiden name my legal middle name when I got married!).

  2. I just love blue hydrangeas! Hydrangeas, roses, peonies, ranunculus, tulips, foxgloves...all favorites of mine!

  3. I love Nantucket!!! The weathered shingles, cobblestone streets, beautiful gardens, beaches where you can daydream and collect sea glass...I love it all!
  4. My drivers license lists my hair color as "blonde". Which it obviously is not...except if you're the DMV guy who just fills in that answer by himself and prints out my license that way...then makes excuses that it really does look kinda blonde and won't change it. humpfh.

  5. I love blogging ... but for some reason haven't told anyone I know that I have a blog!

  6. And Surprise -- Very very soon I will be announcing the Grand Opening of my new etsy shop "haven"! Fresh Classic Style for the home!!!

Friday, May 15, 2009

Mindless Fun

Find me on Polyvore

I just spent the past bit goofing off on Polyvore.com! Seriously mindless & seriously fun!!


Wednesday, May 13, 2009

Fun Chalkboard Paint Project


I had the best time at the Raleigh Flea Market this past Saturday! One of the treasures I found was this beautiful old picnic basket! I have been searching for several years for just the right picnic basket, and was so excited to find this one and for a great price, too!

I have had this project in mind for years, just waiting for the right picnic basket to come along:



It involves the picnic basket &...you guessed it!....Chalkboard paint!!!!!!

I painted a couple of coats on the inside of the lid. This way when you lift the lid to get out your goodies everyone can see your fun message!


I used Chalk Ink markers made just for chalkboards (found @ Michael's or on Amazon) to write about the fun things you do on a picnic! This would also be cute for writing your picnic menu, or a quote or love note!

The cool thing about these Chalk Ink markers is they don't smudge, so the writing doesn't come off till you clean it with water or a little ammonia based cleaner! Perfect for this project....your message won't be erased by the yummies in your basket!


No lid on your picnic basket???

Just get a small chalkboard, drill 2 holes in the top of the wood (or just use your trusty hot glue gun!) and tie it with ribbon to the front of your basket!

Easy-peasy lemon-squeezey!!!


Tuck in some pretty fabric to line your picnic basket, and fill with:

mouth-waterin' yummy goodies
pretty vintage little plates you found thriftin'
some binoculars for bird watching
a frisbee or bubbles or deck of cards
a good book or magazine to gaze at
a couple of plastic grocery bags to hold dirty dishes on the way home
and your camera to capture the memories!


My girls are home on track-out (they go to a year-round school....9 weeks tracked in school, then 3 weeks tracked out...all year round....yes, they get additional holiday breaks, and yes we LOVE it!) so I'm heading to the kitchen now to pack a yummy picnic lunch for the family!

Isn't this project fun?!!
Let me know if you try this too!

ps--Thank you SO much to everyone for the dear birthday messages y'all left me yesterday! It totally made my day :)!!!

Tuesday, May 12, 2009

You're Invited!


Welcome, Dear Friends!! Today is my birthday, won't you come to my party?!! :)

It would be so wonderful to get together with y'all!
So come on over to The Blessed Nest!

We can sit in my garden surrounded by roses.....

....and eat SWEET cupcakes with pink icing & drink some lemonade!

amy atlas design


www.surlatable.com

We'll spend hours laughing and talking,

and before saying, "See you soon!"

everyone can fill a goodie bag with yummy sweet treats from

The Candy Bar.....
amy atlas design

I'm so glad that you could come to my party today!!! :)
It does the heart good to be among friends!!


ps--I'm planning a fun project to show y'all tomorrow! So come on back and visit some more then!!