Basement in Need of Organization

I really can't believe I am going to be sharing this! I wouldn't let anybody who visits see my basement yet I am going to be publishing these pictures for anybody to see!

However, I am sharing first of all for accountability since we plan to tackle this space and have it completely organized by the end of April. I am also sharing to hopefully motivate you for your own spring cleaning...it couldn't be worse than this daunting task!!

Here is the basement:

To the left is my laundry area which would definitely not be there if I had my choice but that is where the hookups were. I would like to make that space a little nicer! To the right is all our stuff: Christmas decorations, camping supplies, hunting stuff, crafting stuff, boxes, etc. We need to purge some of this but also put up shelves and organize the things we are going to keep on these shelves!

Close up of the stuff! See the awful two-tone walls?? We have purchased some cinder block paint and need to go ahead and paint the walls and have that job over with too!

On this side of the basement is my husbands toy tractors which we need to go through and decide what we are keeping and organize them, there are also piles of tools & car stuff which we need to organize, these things will probably be organized in the garage instead of the basement area. Notice the doors? Well, they have been down there since December...we took a few doors off the hinges to paint & brought them down to the basement...however it is so much easier to just paint them on the hinges! These doors are to the studio closet & guest room....I am sure our guests love that! These need to be moved upstairs and put back where they belong! We also need to sweep and mop the floor!

So here is the basement to-do list:
*Bring doors upstairs
*Paint the walls
*Sweep and mop basement floor
*Purge "stuff"
*Go through toys & organize
*Organize tools & car stuff & put in garage
*Organize laundry area
*Put up shelves for the stuff we are going to keep

Hopefully on or before May 1 we will be able to report that we have accomplished each of these tasks on this list! I definitely think we can do it, it won't necessarily be fun but it will be well worth it in the end!!

Our Clean Garage

Wednesday I spent a few hours in my horribly unorganized and cluttered garage (sorry there are no before pictures but believe me it was awful!) I am so glad I did! Since the day we purchased our home, we have just been putting stuff in the garage/basement with no rhyme or reason as to where it went because we were focusing on the upstairs of the house (which is more important). But after almost 3 months of entering the house through the garage and thinking 'I have got to do something about this,' I finally did. I had been dreading this day for months, telling myself we have to do this on a weekend because John David has to help but I finally took action and after just a few hours I felt so much better!

This is where John David parks (it's only a 1 car garage :( but that's better than no garage I suppose!) Notice the hole in the dry wall & the 'A'?? The beautification of this space will come later!

My handy freezer & our old refrigerator that is taking up space...need to do something about that!

My dream for this space is to put up a wall where the columns are and create a mud-room type entry here; paint the walls, paint or carpet the stairs, have a nice tile floor, rugs, a storage bench, coat hanger and place to put our muddy shoes!

Tomorrow I will share what lurks on the other side of the door...the scary basement and our game plan for that space!

Lots of Little Things

Today has been a day of getting "miscellaneous" things accomplished and I have done pretty good thus far! I started my morning washing sheets, ironing, and cleaning all 3 bathrooms...it takes much longer to scrub 3 toilets, 3 sinks, 2 tubs, and mop 3 bathroom floors than it does just one! I made a checklist of things to take camping this weekend and have all the camping gear together in the living room (behind the couch so the living room doesn't look too messy!)

I finally did something I have been meaning to do for awhile now, I organized my "Inspiration Book". Over the past year I have been collecting ideas from magazines and pictures of things I like so when we buy/build a house I will have a reference to look to for the things that I like! I just had all of the pages and pictures stuffed in a folder so I sat down and made dividers and labeled each of the categories and filed away the pictures and articles that go under each one!! My categories are: Kitchen, Bathroom, Dining Room, Master Bedroom, Guest Bedroom, Organization, Kids (yes kids, even though it will be about 5 more years I still have my ideas!), Outdoor Room, Garden, and Crafts & Cute Ideas. I think this will really help me and it is organized and takes up much less space than magazines do!

I also spent some time looking at my new Sunday School Curriculum. I will be teaching the Older 3's Sunday School Class beginning August 3rd! I am excited about this..I worked with Younger 3's at Bible School and I am really looking forward to this! 3-year-olds are great!

Productive Monday

Today has been a lovely "workday" for me! I woke up early and got straight to work. I have washed and dried 4 loads of laundry, washed dishes, and cleaned out my desk. I also planned our meals and made a grocery list for my grocery shopping tomorrow...it amazes me how I think we have nothing to eat and then with a little planning I find out we have enough food to last another week if I just go get milk and other staples!

I also began making a list of things to take camping this weekend. We are going white water rafting on the Ocoee this Saturday with Adam and Katie and then camping!! I can't wait although I must admit I am a little scared about the rafting!!

The big project for today was de-cluttering! I began with my bedroom closet last night and pulled out several things to give away! This morning I cleaned out my living room closet and my under the stairs storage area and found several things that we don't need! I love when I am successful at de-cluttering and it makes me feel great about having a clean, organized house with only the things we need in it!

This is what I have gotten rid of from my closet thus far:
1 winter coat
1 hoodie
1 pair of capris
2 pair of pants (khakis and jeans)
1 skirt
1 pair of pj pants
2 dresses
4 shirts

Spring Break

We have had a relaxing Spring Break thus far! Yes, we have slept in but we haven't slept past 9:30 at all (which is a feat for us!!)

My birthday was Tuesday and we had a lovely day! We made my birthday cake together the night before and I was really excited about my cake so we had birthday cake for breakfast!!



My homemade birthday cake! Strawberry cake with cream cheese icing!! Yummy!!





Wednesday I called "Spring Cleaning" day! Since the big moving day is getting closer I wanted to have a pre-moving cleaning day! We had a very successful day cleaning out closets and drawers and I realized that we really do not own a lot of things that we do not need! It was really encouraging to see that we do not have a lot of useless clutter and that we are really living simply!!

Thursday was a relaxing yet productive day! We went to pick up a few items at the store and only bought what was on our list! (This is really exciting too!) We are trying to stay organized by not bringing in new things into our house that we can live without and to live a simple, non materialistic life! We did buy a small bottle of white paint (on our list) to finish a flag that I started in December! When we got home John David finished the flag by stamping the stars!!



This flag is made from a scrap piece of tin from my Grandpa's farm! I think it is beautiful!



I couldn't resist taking a picture of it with my rocking chair!!



We have the flag hanging on our door for now! Hopefully one day soon we can hang it on our barn or front porch!!


John David had an evening job filming for a man who goes to church with us. While he was filming, I did laundry (a week and a half worth at the laundromat!) After getting home from doing laundry I ironed John David's shirts and starched his jeans!

I also got some good news while I was doing my ironing, my cousin Katie called me and told me she was named Star Greenhand for West Tennessee!! (Star Greenhand is for Freshman FFA members, it is based on their Supervised Agriculture Experience Program as well as their involvement in FFA) I am so excited for her! She now will advance to state for the opportunity to be named Tennessee Star Greenhand!! I am so glad that Rebekah and I were able to be involved in the FFA and that Joseph, and Katelyn have become involved too! FFA really has had an impact on our lives!!