organizing

Prompted By Bloggers (Weekend Toss)

~ Teresa ~ 3 Comments

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Today’s post is Part of a 31 Day writing series where I will choose moments from my life and let them be my writing prompt for the day. On Weekends, I sometimes do a Weekend Toss, which is a combination of links to blogs I have enjoyed, or random updates and sometimes a scripture for Sunday.  I have decided to keep the Weekend Toss going, so today’s post will be links to other bloggers in the #Write31days group that I feel prompted to share with you. I hope you click over and check them out. I invite you to come back tomorrow for some Sunday inspiration.

I love to find new blogs to enjoy.  One of the exciting things about the 31 Days writing challenge is having so many blogs in one place.  They are organized into categories which makes it easier to find topics of interest.  Throughout the month of October, I plan to browse each category and find blogs to enjoy. I will highlight some of them here on Saturday’s.  This weeks featured blogs come from two different categories – House & Home and Simplicity & Organizing.

Each image used below was created by the blog owner of that blog as their blog button for the series.  if you click on the image it will take you to their blog.  I hope you enjoy your visits!

1.  It is only fitting that the first blog I feature is Nesting Place, as she is the hostess for this mega blog link-up.  I found her blog in 2008 and have been a follower ever since. She lets us know that our homes don’t have to be perfect to be beautiful.  In addition to her lovely home, she recently renovated a barn for hosting events.  I was lucky enough to be in this barn last Saturday with a bunch of writers.  Myquillen was a most gracious host and her sister, Emily Freeman along with Christa Wells were very inspiring and encouraging speakers. In her #write31days series, Myquillen shares how we can “create little moments” for our homes. And barns. With stuff we already have.

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2.  Donna over at Funky Junk Interiors is the queen of junk.  She can take what others would consider trash and turn it into functional junk.  Some of her stuff is amazing.  It makes me wish I knew how to use power tools.  Check out her dream box series, but be sure to check out her project tab as well, you will be impressed.

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3.   Restoration Spring is a new to me blog and I love Michelle’s 31 Day series, Home Recycled.  It is only day 3, but I am totally on board with what she is saying.  It resonates with me because I know exactly what she means.  If only I’d dare to get rid of excess.  I’m hoping this series will challenge me to let go and move on.

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4.  Leanne from Organize and Decorate Everything is helping us be organized in 15 minutes a day.  I may not be able to do everything everyday, but I plan to keep this one on my radar, so that when I am ready to tackle some organization projects I’ll have her tips.  It’s early in the series, but so far I’m loving how she is breaking down the projects.

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5.  Jennifer Buell is sharing her experiences of finding balance among moving boxes.  Oh, Oh, Oh, I can sooooooooooo relate to this one.  I think I’m on address number 20 in 30 years of marriage.  She is talking, not just about the move, but the emotions and how she is finding balance in the process. Whether you have moved in the past, are in the middle of a move, or moving soon, you should be able to relate to all the boxes.

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6.  Ally over at The Bridge Builders Wife started a year long spending fast this past January. I saw an Oprah episode once where a couple had done this and have wanted to attempt it ever since, but alas, this has not happened.  I’m hoping reading about Ally’s journey will inspire me to at least try it for a month or two.  What about you – do you need some tips on how to quit spending?

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Reading in Grace,

Teresa

Simplicity Unwrapped In The Dining Room

~ Teresa ~ 4 Comments

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Last Tuesday I shared with you how I love the concept of Simplicity and I wrote about finding simplicity unwrapped in the Kitchen.  I will be joining Emily and others for Tuesday’s Unwrapped.

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Today’s post centers around my little French Country Dining Room. That has been a thorn in my side for a while.  I had a dream.  A dream of simple grace. My grandmothers wooden table with the muslin table cloth my mother made for it in the seventies (with blue fringe around the bottom) and cane chairs painted white.  I would have a white large mirror (the one I found at Home Goods was gone when I went back) leaning against one wall and possibly a piece of white painted furniture for storage etc. The walls would be a shade of white and  the ceiling would be painted Martha Stewart enamelware blue. My accessories would be a combo of French Country and shabby chic.  It wasn’t all planned out because, of course, part of the journey of decorating is in the unknown – the part that happens over time.

Well, it happened. Over time.  The chaos, the misdirected decor and the clutter. I wish I had taken a picture this morning.  But, if I’m being totally honest, a part of me is glad (if you change the l and a around you get a totally different word. glad I caught that).  I am glad that you didn’t have to see the mess that had become of my little dining room.

Oh, I do have the enamelware blue ceiling and walls that are bleached muslin. I do have the dining table with the fringe on the bottom table cloth.  I do have the cane chairs painted white.  Ok, so only two of them made it under the paint brush. But, we were on track.  And then we moved out of our apartment (our other home) and had to squeeze a lot of stuff into one house. So, I had to add my dark bookshelves to the dining room and an extra chest of drawers and a bench.  And the look was a little more eclectic and not the simple grace of French Country and Shabby Chic that I had intended.

Then, we sorted through an estate of a family friend and acquired more junk lovely stuff. Then I helped my cousin go through some of my Aunt’s things and acquired a few family mementos.  My dining room became hoarder central (and my kitchen counters too, if I am going to be completely honest).  Seriously.  So, today in addition to doing some basic cleaning, I decided it was time to get the chaos under control. I thought it was time we unwrapped simplicity in the dining room.

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I found a home for everything (not all in the dining room), did some rearranging of accessories, pulled out a quilt of my grandmother’s to make a topper for the muslin table cloth and what I was left with was a little bit country and a little bit shabby (not so much French or Chic).  But I did unwrap a lovely gift. A gift that was more than simplicity.

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A gift that brought order, a gift that properly displayed  memories. A gift that brought balance because now I can walk through the room without worrying that my friends and family are going to report me to the hoarder police.

I also learned that simple order is more important than a specific decorating style.  I still have a dream, but in the meantime I am enjoying the simplicity of a gift unwrapped.

I will leave you with a few more pictures of my little shabby country dining room with it’s enamelware blue ceiling.  (Keep in mind that these pictures were taken after dark by a non-professional photo taker.)

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Drop-cloth curtains, blue ceiling, garden bench, grandmother’s quilt and another of her quilt tops on the chair.

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This quilt of my grandmother’s is all done by hand, at the time of her death my grandparents had been married for 73 years that was 10 years ago – I am guessing this quilt is probably 75- 83 years old. The enamel wash basin on the table has a light blue rim, I found it at an Antique shop. It is the center piece for now, subject to change when something better comes along. The linens on the back of the chairs were from the estate of a family friend.

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Unwrapping in grace,

Teresa

“And this mess is so big…”

~ Teresa ~ 4 Comments

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“But all things should be done decently and in order.” I Corinthians 14:40

I had a closet.  It was horrid.  It started out with good intentions. But a year of searching for this and that and a few more items stuffed in, and well, I’ll let the pictures tell the story:

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The This closet was originally going to be my pantry. But…Mr. Piano needed storage for the stuff that will someday go to an office.  I wanted custom shelves…but, my brother never seemed to have the time for the shelves and they cost money…. the crates started out in a neat stack with a few things on top.  But… (yes, there is another but) eventually, Mr. Piano needed a piece of music from one of the bottom crates and the rest is history. Long story, short. We lived with it as is. Until we couldn’t. 

This past weekend I decided to organize the closet and use a utility shelf.  I wanted to paint it white, but I wanted the mess organized more, so I just went with the utilitarian gray.  Someday, I still have hopes of this being a custom organized pantry.  In the meantime, it is in much better shape.  I’ll let the photo’s show you:

100_1946 100_1945 100_1934 100_1939 100_1942 100_1941 100_1944This closet is now, officially, the most organized spot in my house.  This is sad.  I walk by and peek in several times a day just to calm the chaos swirling around in my head and my house. It is amazing how quickly the organizing thread can unravel.  It only takes a year give or take a  month or two.

(Yes, we have a curtain for a closet door.  Okay? Thanks.)

I’m pretty sure this closet is a metaphor for something.  Something that may be askew in my life.  Is it possible that while I’m organizing the hidden places in my home (and the not so hidden) that I will also be on a journey to find balance in those hidden places deep in my soul?

Balancing in Grace,

Sadie

“She watches over the affairs of her household
    and does not eat the bread of idleness.” –Proverbs 31:27