Let's Do This

I'm excited about 2013.

Seth and I have a plan. And as much as we realize that when we make plans, there's a good chance life will throw us a curve ball, we still think it's important to have a goal. Generally speaking, our goal is to fix up as much as we can this year so that, hopefully, in 2014, we can put it on the market. It's daunting, but at the same time, both of us feel like there's a very good chance we can accomplish a lot this year. Maybe we'll fail miserably, but optimism is a nice feeling.

So, with that in mind, I'm trying to make decisions based on what would appeal to a prospective buyer, not necessarily what I would prefer. That means purging stuff, making it feel like there's lots of space, tons of storage, and a good flow. I'm also starting to think I have to change my mind about how I use certain spaces. For instance, I LOVE having a homeschool room. It has been a lifesaver for me. Everything we need is in one room, and I can shut the door when the clutter gets crazy. However, to keep that room just for homeschool, it would mean Homegirl has to move upstairs into the boys' room, on the end of the attic where it doesn't really feel like a bed there would make sense. So, much to my chagrin (and probably my husband's annoyance, since he just recently built me tons of shelves in the school room closet), I'm thinking I'll have to swap the spaces. It will be nice for Homegirl to have her own room, because I'm not comfortable with her sleeping near the stairs or with the likelihood that the three of them would greatly disturb each other's sleep patterns if they were all together. And I'll have to reorganize our school stuff so we have only the necessary stuff for the smaller space. But we'll figure something out.

Sorry, honey. I'm nothing if I'm not indecisive.

During the first week of the year, I've been trying to do small projects to get me started. I purged and REALLY scrubbed every inch of our bathroom. The shower area is on the list of things to accomplish this year. I also tackled the little storage closet in our hallway.

What began as this:

Went to this:

And eventually to this:

With the help of my trusty assistant:

It may be hard to tell from the pictures, but I threw a ton away and got things cleaned and organized. I'm thinking about painting the inside a pretty color or maybe laying down some shelf paper. We shall see.

I'm considering tackling the kitchen today and purging things. I want to keep spaces as clean and organized as possible, so that when it comes time to jump on a project, it will be that much easier.

Our first big project of the year was decided for us by our ancient washing machine and its sudden death. We figure if we're replacing it and the dryer, we might as well finish off that space. It's nice because it's not going to be a huge or expensive project (other than the appliances). It will take lots of elbow grease, some paint, and some inexpensive flooring. It's a good place to start. I'll be updating you on the process.

I should also have a post coming soon about the DIY gifts we made for the kiddos for Christmas. We're really pleased with them and the kids are loving them. I just need to take some pictures of them for ya.

So to sum up, hopefully this blog will be much busier over 2013. :)

School Daze

If you're looking for perfection, you're on the wrong blog.

Here at The Practice House, we don't strive for perfection. Perfection isn't even on our radar. We basically have one aim when it comes to projects: DONE. In fact, we'll settle for "Done Enough".

The ol' schoolroom was much in need of a revamp. For one thing, it morphed into a wreck over the summer. My children basically live in that room. Their computer is in there, their art stuff, books, puzzles, and millions of toys had settled into the crevices. And I barely entered it for three months. You can imagine the disaster.

Another reason to spruce up, besides the fact that I just can't truly start school until I have a nice neat classroom, was that I got a "new" desk. I'd been looking around on craigslist and garage sales for one that would work and that I could give a makeover. I mentioned to my mom I was looking for one, and she offered me one of their old ones--the same desk that I learned to write on. Sentimental value through the roof. Score.

So, here's what I started with--your basic 30 year old metal desk:

I primed it and then gave it two or three coats of Valspar spray paint in "Smoke". It ended up being almost exactly the same color of the walls in the schoolroom. That wasn't my intent, but it looks kinda nice. I'll show you in a minute. Patience.

When I got the desk into the room and straightened everything up, it felt like it was coming together. So, I took some night shots (which you're not really supposed to do on a home blog, but I'm a rule breaker).

It still had some issues though: The windows, as you can see, were fancily covered by a flag and a blanket. Also, just outside this shot, was a royal mess of papers and boxes. So, onward we marched.

Next came operation closet shelves, because I need storage space in there. This entailed taking everything out of the closet (and messing up what had been a nice cheery room again). Seth built several shelves in varying depths for me to store all the school/craft/game/whatever crap that lives in that room.

Here was the sad closet before (it was more sad before it was emptied):

After shelves and a whole lotta white paint:

Now we were in the home stretch. Just had to load all my junk into the closet and straighten everything up. And hang blinds. And then take a deep breath.

It might not be as pretty as you hoped, but I'm delighted with this closet. There's still a lot of room left, and eventually I will sort through all those papers and stuff and file/shred them and then it will be fancier. But for now, this does wonders.

And now, for the rest of the room:

Is it perfect? Hardly. But it's clean, bright, mostly organized, and functional. I'll take it! Obviously, there are a few more things to do.

Short term: Replace desk chair, touch up paint, hang a pretty curtain in the closet doorway, hang a bulletin board and some artwork

Long term: Either refinish or carpet the floors

Whew! One room is clean and looking great! If only all the other rooms didn't suffer neglect when I  am busy with projects. More mess to tackle.