Clean Up That Mess!

I was watching HGTV the other day (I know, shocker) and it was that show where they tell people if their renovations where worth the money.  Anyways, the kitchen they were looking at had a desk space and the designer said "Don't put a desk in the kitchen.  All it does is get filled up with piles of junk."  You know what, I have no idea what she was talking about.

OK so in truth my reaction was partly embarrassment, part relief that it wasn't just me and part "Nice! I have the builder to blame for my mess, not me!"  But any way you look at it I knew it was time for a fix. 

(Does it look any less messy in PicMonkey "HDR")


And just when this mess was about to eat up my desk entirely Marshall's to the rescue!

Hold on, quick tangent...I love HomeGoods as I'm sure you all do.  But the closest HomeGoods to me is not close at all, probably a couple hours away.  But did you know Marshall's owns HomeGoods?!?!  And most good Marshall's these days are expanding their "HomeGoods".  Meaning they have an increasingly good section of some of those goodies you would find at a HomeGoods store.  So if you are as far away as I am from the real deal check out your local Marshall's and you wont leave empty handed.

But back to the messy desk - a walk through Marshall's the other day turned up this fabulous organizing gem.

Metal, three baskets, rustic / industrial feel, and the perfect solution to my disaster.  A couple of nails later and it was up on the wall ready to be filled.

A section for magazines, one for bills and the last for coupons.  All the perfect fit.

Five minutes of throwing things out, sorting, returning items to where they once came and filling my new storage and I actually remembered what the surface of the desk looked like.

Wow!  What an improvement!  And I only spent $20.  Gotta love Marshall's!

BTW - this made me think about how organizational projects often look so good at first but given a few weeks everything goes right back to being a mess so I thought I would show you what a couple of my other org projects look like at this very moment.

Do you remember the pantry project?  When it was first complete it looked like this...



And at this very moment it looks like this

Pretty happy with that!  It isn't going to stay perfect but the organizing I did really was functional (not just pretty) and it really has been working well for me.  Good job Jill!

Remember the shoe storage?



Let's see how it is looking...

Again, not perfect but it is working well.  If the wall was bigger maybe 3 more crates would do the trick to keep extra shoes off the floor but as long as I keep the not worn so often shoes in the bedroom closet the space works out great.

So the moral of the story?  Eat chocolate...oh wait that is the moral of every story.  But honestly taking the time to get things organized does pay off.  And as silly as this sounds, when it is not only organized but pretty I am that much more motivated to keep it looking good.  Hey...a little style goes a long way!

Time to Get Movin'

Tickets are booked, plans are being made, guests are on the way (at the end of July) which means I need to keep moving on the guest room redo.  It is actually more of a touch-up then a redo.  Wall color is staying the same, the main furniture is good, it just needs some style.

You may remember I started a while back with a gold themed gallery wall.

At that point I was planning on simple red accents and to be done with it, but as always that plan has changed.  And it changed because I found this fabric...

As you can tell from the first pic, this room is very dark.  It actually does not have a window.  When I saw this fabric I knew it would do wonders in brightening up the space.  So I bought it.  And now I am shaping the whole room around it!  

For the first step I did this...

Before I go any further I have to apologize for the colors in these pictures.  As I said, the room has no windows which makes photographing it a nightmare.  It is impossible to get good colors.  The first pic, of the fabric laying on the floor was taken in another room and really does capture the true colors.  Sorry for everything else!  But here is a better view...

The best part is how it all comes together with the bedding...NOT!

Look at that awesome color combination!  Well, needless to say new bedding is on the list.  Don't you love how one change makes it necessary to change everything else.  My husband especially loves that!  

But despite the horrible combination I love how the fabric looks on the wall.  It sort of acts as a foe window and maybe tricks guests into feeling the sunshine.  

I plan to make pillows with the fabric I have left.  I also need a spot for guests to put their luggage as well as some new accessories to compliment the new color palate.  I have one month to make it happen so I better get moving!