STUFF AROUND THE HOUSE

SPRING CLEANING

I am in the middle of trying to spring clean the house. UUGGHH! I never have really, fully, ever truly spring cleaned it to the core. I've washed windows and cleaned out a few closets, but that has always been about it as far as spring cleaning. Well, this year, Jared has just finally completed the dry wall and ALL the sanding in the basement, so there was dust literally everywhere....even on the second floor and inside my cabinets. SO, this year I decided was the year to tackle it big time!

Being the list maker that I am, I wrote down all the things that needed to be done from cleaning out all the kitchen cabinets and wiping down all the pots and pans to wiping down all the baseboards and doorjams. There was not an inch of space in this house that I was not going to clean. Then, I divided all those tasks out among my days this past week. It was an ambitious list, but I was determined to do it. (Ha!) One thing I found out was that being a mom and trying to spring clean is not so easy. I just don't have big chunks of time (aside from nap time) to tackle big things. Plus, I was getting burnt out on cleaning. SOOO... my plan of getting it done in one week has turned into just doing what I can each day and marking it off my list. It may take me a month, but by golly, my house will be clean. (Though by the time I'm done, the things I did first will be dirty again...... LOL!) Many people ask me how my house can stay so organized with a toddler running around....Well, it's just my nature to keep it that way. HOWEVER, most people never see this room.....

This picture doesn't even do it justice, and it actually looks good compared to what it looked like a week ago before I took out all the garage sale stuff. Our guest room has turned into the "just throw it in there" room. With the basement being a "construction zone" lately, I haven't wanted to put too much down there, so it all gets thrown in here. This is on my list for this week....but I honestly don't know what to do with the stuff. So I just close the door and go on to something else on my list.

CRAIGSLIST & GARAGE SALES

In addition to reading all my "deals blogs" I have gotten into reading home decorating and DIY blogs written by women who decorate and furnish their homes on a budget. It has given me the bug to try some projects myself. But I decided to start small. So I found two of these matching frames at a garage sale and decided to buy me some spray paint and go to it.

Here is what they look like now. My only wish is that I had used glossy black instead of flat. Oh well. I decided I LOVE spray paint....though Jared is begging me to nix the fettish with black. HMMM.. don't know if I can. I LOVE black! In fact, I think these new frames go great with the new BLACK bookshelves and armoire we just bought off of Craigslist...

We have always wanted an armoire for our bedroom. We just redid the bedding and got curtains finally, too. And, we want to eventually get new furniture to replace the hand-me-down set we got when we were married. (It is actually a VERY good quality bedroom set of a bed, nightstand and huge dresser that a friend of our family graciously just gave to us when we got married....but we are ready for a change and an update.) I, of course, want black furniture. Jared - not so sure. BUT, now with a black armoire, we kinda have to go black, right? :) Anyway, it came with the matching bookcase, which I loved also, so we got both! I just love them! And now I'm addicted to checking Craigslist every day. See, I used to think you could only find old outdated stuff that would need a lot of work, but I guess not. Plus, now that I am reading some of those DIY blogs, I am starting to see some of those "old" pieces with a new perspective. (Jared just rolls his eyes sometimes.)

I found this adorable table and chairs today at a garage sale for $10! It is strong and sturdy and in very good condition. There was quite a bit of crayon and marker on the top, but nothing my Mr. Clean Magic Eraser sponge couldn't take care of. It's as good as new!

I also found this cute little shelf last week at a garage sale. (And the balls for 50 cents for all of them at a different sale....which have been a HUGE hit!) I am not a fan of the wood color, and therefore would have passed it up last year...but not this year! Nope! White spray paint, here I come! And I bought an adorable toddler bed WITH the mattress at a sale today for only $25! I don't have a picture of it yet because I had the table and chairs in my vehicle today along with MJ's stroller, so no room to bring it home. Got to take Jared's truck tomorrow to pick it up. Don't you just love this time of year? :)