Back to Basics...

Well, it's official: the kids are back to school as of yesterday, and I need to get my act together and make some sense of the disorder running rapmant in the corners, cupbooards, cabinets, and closets of my home!

I find myself dreading opening my fridge...knowing it has a summers worth of crud waiting for me to attack (along with some outdated food items!). I need to go through the kids' (and our) closets to weed out the really summery clothing that just doesn't look good after Labour Day. My garage is a complete and utter embarassment: how it got that way is beyond me. At this point, I open the door from the mudroom, close my eyes, toss the recycables in the general direction of the bins and say a quick prayer!

 It overwhelms me like you cannot even imagine.

Then I go over here and visit our favourite GIRL. I love this blogger - she makes me laugh out loud at her posts and dry wit; but lately I just feel bad about myself when I visit, and it's entirely my own fault!! Chris is the quintessential "should have been a professional organizer". Instead, she is an ultra organized cute school teacher (same diff!) who leaves me swinging between sheer and utter envy/ admiration and the urge to pinch myself really hard for letting my home fall into such disorder over the summer. Still, because I love her, I choose to be inspired and try to learn from her orderly ways.

She's a teacher after all...!

Check out these examples of what my house should look like, and will, if I have anything to say about it!

I feel some Madonna music coming on and a large pot of coffee!!!

all images, Just a Girl

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Head on over to Julia's Hooked on Party. While I'm hooked on organization this week, she shares a really "sweet passion" herself, along with some other great links from fellow readers!

No, (gulp)...that's not mine.

I love order.

I'm hooked on it, in fact.

I love hitting the aisles at Homesense where they have all of the great storage solutions like beautiful baskets, boxes, hooks and more. I am not a cluttery girl at all. I find it torturous to sit down and have my cup of tea until the kitchen is tidied; and orderly spaces send a feeling of calm through every cell of my body until I am completely relaxed. I clean my "junk drawer" once a week.

So how did this happen to me?

I snapped this photo after Christmas and thought about making it a screen saver to shame myself for letting things get this bad. However, simply taking the photo and admitting my messiness spurred me into action. I plunked myself down on the floor and began the organization process from the bottom up. Out went the toys that had somehow landed in there, the Christmas wrap I didn't even know I had, picture frames that I could put to use, and extra linens, that I finally admitted I didn't need, were packaged up and put in a pile to donate.

Table linens were reorganized into a neat stack, bed linens were folded as best I can (I refuse to try to fold bottom sheets like Martha instructs), pillow cases wrapped around them (which is such a neat trick), and all of my fabric remnants were neatly folded and placed in a zippered plastic case that some new curtains came in. Curtains are also a problem for me: I keep buying them!

So a good hour later, and here is my new and improved linen closet. Not as pretty as some (certainly no cedar lined shelving!), but it gives me that calm feeling every time I reach in to retrieve what I need.

I can't believe I showed you that! Gives new meaning to "cleaning out my closet," doesn't it?

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Head on over to see Julia at Hooked on Houses. She is hosting a round-up of what everyone is hooked on. I can't say I liked showing what I did, but don't worry...everyone else is showing something pretty!!

The Kitchen Pantry...

photo: Country Living

The kitchen pantry has made a huge comeback in today's modern kitchens and has enjoyed a revival for those of us possessing, or pining for, a "kitchen of yesteryear". For some, adding a kitchen pantry stems from sheer necessity: larger and simply more small appliances have invaded our kitchens, and the huge bulk purchases of paper towels and flour that we stock up on take over the recesses of our cabinets like "space invaders" of our own time. Adding a pantry makes perfect sense in our modern world and serves multiple functions for today's busy families.

Of course, aesthetics often factor into the design equation for homeowners wishing to create pretty pantries...pantries that not only serve as a space for our food wares, but also as the perfect spot to showcase our collections of dishware, glasses, and teacups.

photo source: Flikr.com

We have even tossed out the ever-so-sensible Tupperware and plastic storage containers - partly out of fear of leaching chemicals into our foods; and partly because...well... plastic really isn't all that pretty!

Indeed, we are resurrecting the gool ol' Mason jars...giving them orderly tags...even embellishing them with fabric scraps to dignify their metal lids! In fact, it is this need for order in every aspect of our home that has led to the streamlining of our pantries into areas that we now want to show off! We are unveiling our pantries for all to see, using pretty wooden screen or glass doors to enclose their goods.

photo: Country Living

Shelves are often lined with delicate papers in pleasing patterns...perhaps even pom pom fringe or lace trim tacked to their edges! Pantries are no longer the utilitarian closets they once were. Just as we are taught to organize every space in our home, we are also being inspired to do so in an eye-catching way!

photography: Jean Allsopp

For those of us without such grand aspirations, our pantries are left hidden...stuffed full of actual necessities. With today's rising food costs, some are returning to our grandmother's ideals of maintaining a well-stocked pantry "just in case." Pantries like this are oblivious to the need for beauty. It is more about how much is in there rather than how pretty it looks. Either way, I am happy the pantry is experiencing this revival. I have had pantries of both kinds in previous homes, but presently have neither. Which means one of two things: I either finally have ample cabinet space for my food and appliances, or I need to stock up!!

What about you? Tell me about your pantry...

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I love this idea of using a vintage apron to use in your pantry for storage of recipe cards, twine, elastic bands, etc.

photo: Country Home

Pantries are a great spot to store those large bags of pet food. I also love this idea of incorporating a "pet pantry" of sorts into your cabinetry for easy access to your pet's feeding needs.

photography (above and below) Emily Milton Redfield

This is a very common, and more modern, approach to the old-fashioned pantry: organized, and out of sight/out of mind!!

The pantry below was obviously well-planned and incorporated into the design of the kitchen. It is also imminently do-able for anyone with a little extra space at their ready in a pre-existing kitchen.

photographer: John O'Hagan

Aahh...I would love to have a pantry like this! A well-stocked pantry means less last-minute trips to the grocery store!

Into the dungeon I go...

I hate dealing with my basement storage area. I feel extra pressure because home organization is one of the services I provide and my basement and garage are like my dirty little secrets right now. I don't, however, accept any blame in this matter. I organize and re-organize both spaces each season and it makes very little difference. The problem is my otherwise great husband. He is messy, messy, messy. He can make a whirlwind out of order within 24 hrs. Unfortunately, he seems to have passed on this trait to our youngest son! I pack up the Halloween decorations and my youngest two decide to have a haunted house in mid-July! Out come the carefully packed costumes. Hockey season sees my hubby's hockey gear strewn all around the basement floor precisely blocking my easy access to the Christmas decorations.

The garage is a sore spot for me right now, too. I am awaiting additional shelving to be made by my handy-man husband, but alas, he wants me to go through any and every rubbermaid container to see if I can get rid of any of my "junk" (which always means decorative stuff). Meanwhile, he drops his tools as he goes and doesn't see anything wrong with having six sawhorses lying around waiting for building projects to be started... if he could only get to the tablesaw that he surrounded with outgoing recyclables.

I know the rules and techniques to bringing order to chaotic spaces. I am very good at it! I can whip a cluttered space into shape in no time flat. Initially resistant clients end up being able to anticipate what should stay or go and do so willingly after getting through just half a room with me. They are thrilled with the results and vow to keep it organized forever more. However, herein lies the problem in my own household: my family realize I am always striving for the order I can so easily create for my clients. They know I will become the taskmaster because it will drive me to the brink of despair to wait for them to keep the order. I realize that I am my own worst enemy!!

Despite all this desire to be organized in every facet of my home, I take to heart the words of Cobi Ladner, editor of House and Home magazine, in last month's issue. In her editorial piece she wrote of the temptation to organize her own garage using expensive storage systems, pretty the garage up so it will be a space to enjoy being in, and know where exactly every lawn implement and skipping rope is at first glance. She said that by doing all this we are essentially expanding the spaces that we now have to keep clean and tidy. Don't we have enough to do? I am in almost total agreement with her...I will forge ahead with my plan for wall storage for all those storage bins, hang bike racks and sport bins, and then close the door behind me and hope I don't trip over those tools that have fallen where they may...

Message Centers... at your service

The picture to the right is my first message center:



A message center was something I decided I had to have in my last home. I was tired of losing my phonebook, having nowhere to post notices/pictures, having a jumble of pens/pencils/crayons, etc. So off to the drawing board in my mind.
I took a large,plain bulletin board I got for $1 at the fleamarket and covered it with black and white ticking fabric and painted the frame black. This was mounted on the wall. A great storage caddy from Ikea I used for the kids' pencils and pens. I framed all my families frequently used numbers on the wall near the phone; and used the large drawer for the phonebook, stationery, craft supplies and paper. In the bottom cupboard I placed extra school supplies, play-doh, coloring books, etc.
In my present home, I have a smaller message center and a great chalkboard across from it. I hang my calendar near the phone ready to jot down important dates and I keep Sophie's colouring books in a great vintage metal picnic basket I got at a fleamarket. I think I will add a curtain to the bookshelf area so I can hide the inevitable junkmail that ends up on the shelves. I absolutely love the chalkboard that my husband made me and consider it "my brains." I think I depend on it too much as I was at a complete loss before he finally made it and hung it on the wall. He said he never rushed a project so much because I was forgetting everything!!!
Great organization thrills me and it's probably a blessing in disguise that my husband is messy because I could get quite obsessed by it. I wouldn't mind if he was tidier, though. I admit to my clients that I struggle with organization issues too, because of my family. One of the favorite aspects of my business is when I get called on to do an organization job. My mantra: a place for everything and everything in its place... words to live by, or at least strive for!!

p.s. the desk phone is one I got at Walmart a few years back. It is identical to one found in Pottery Barn. I love a bargain!!!

Great mudrooms

Another of the crucial elements I consider before selecting a houseplan is the ever important mudroom. I have two boys, a little girl and a husband who all have difficulty with eye-hand co-ordination (this is my guess) and cannot get a coat on a hanger and onto a closet rod. It doesn't seem to matter how many times I explain the process or how important it is to me. It just doesn't happen. The house I am in now is the first house that has a well-planned, large mudroom. It is truly thrilling!

My husband, Paul, built me my much anticipated lockers. I wanted cubbies for boots, overhead baskets for ball caps, skipping ropes, etc. and enough hooks for a couple of coats each and their schoolbags. I absolutely love my mudroom and always recommend to my clients to somehow incorporate a similar set-up for their own mudroom needs. I painted the lockers in a soft sage green which does not show the inevitable dirt from their things and labelled everyone's baskets (I'm big into labels).

My sister has a great mudroom, too. She has painted hers in a bolder colour than mine and it is very welcoming and fun. I love her large closet, slate tiles and rack displaying her vintage wicker purse collection. We both love our mudrooms and the fact that they are actually working for us!!