From Mess to Yes!

From Mess to Yes!

I’m so excited!! It’s a perfect storm! Three of my favorite things are coming together on September 9: Reese Witherspoon, Netflix, and The Home Edit authors!!

A home improvement series of eight episodes will premiere on Netflix, with Reese Witherspoon as executive editor and a client in one of the episodes. Clea Shearer and Joanna Teplin wrote “The Home Edit: A Guide to Organizing and Realizing Your House Goals”, of which I have a copy. If you don’t have your copy yet, you can get the paperback edition for $13.29 here: https://amzn.to/34wWjLd

And if that isn’t enough, Clea and Joanna have a new book being released September 15. The hardcover edition of “The Home Edit Life: The No-Guilt Guide to Owning What You Want and Organizing Everything “ can be pre-ordered for $19.99. I already ordered my copy! Pre-order your copy now: https://amzn.to/2YzJThY

The authors, Clea and Joanna will declutter the homes of several celebrities and also those of other families. Celebrity clients who will be on the Netflix series include Khloe Kardashian, Eva Longoria, Neil Patrick Harris and David Burtka, Jordana Brewster, and Kane and Katelyn Brown.

If you’re not familiar with “The Home Edit” team, you can get a head start watching. Their Master the Mess YouTube series.

There are 12 episodes of about 12 minutes each. Check it out here: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLwnyebP4SkwpUs9b-UGRSiXcxe-CkkUa6

And mark your calendars for September 9 and the premiere of the Netflix series “Get Organized With the Home Edit – From Mess to Yes”!

35 Things You Don’t Clean But Should ASAP

35 Things You Don’t Clean But Should ASAP

I love Family Handyman, the website and the magazine. However, I do have one small problem with it. It probably should be Family Handywoman or Family Handyperson!

If you’re like me, you’ve probably been sitting around wondering what to clean next! (Ha!) By now, your home is probably spotless, right? Actually, I can’t say that is what I’ve been doing with my time, but there are probably quite a few things I’ve been missing when I clean. Maybe it’s time to stop and update my cleaning process!

This is a great article I came across recently by Nick Gerhardt. I’m going to highlight some of the things you should be cleaning and how to clean them. But you can read the entire article for yourself here: https://vickiloves.me/35ThingstoClean

Many of these items can be cleaned by spraying or wiping regularly with disinfectant, spray or cloth. These items include light switches, remote, phone (landline phones, but check with manufacturer for cleaning directions for smartphones), door knobs, and trash cans.

Dusting or vacuuming will take care of cleaning several items on the list:

  • Walls
  • Inside closets
  • Mattress
  • Inside dryer and dryer vent
  • Refrigerator coils
  • Dryer vent (outside)
  • Bagless vacuum filter

Soap and water or a cycle in the washing machine or dishwasher are good ways to clean pillows,  toothbrush holders, shower caddies, kitchen range hood filter (may need a little degreaser), hairbrushes (add some baking soda), and shower curtains.

For more specifics about cleaning other items, check out the article itself. https://vickiloves.me/35ThingstoClean

And if you like checklists to keep track of what you’ve cleaned, I created one for you. You can download it and print it out or save it to your computer. If you save the download and copy it, rename it by adding a date and complete it online. Then you’ll have a copy of what you cleaned and the date you did the cleaning.

Here is where you can access your free interactive checklist: https://vickiloves.me/NeglectedItemsCleaningChecklist

You can print it out or download and complete, saving with the date you cleaned. Have fun cleaning!

 

When The Going Gets Tough, The Tough Go Shopping

When The Going Gets Tough, The Tough Go Shopping

When the going gets tough, the tough go shopping – in your own home.  That’s right  – shop your own home. I’ve done it many times when I get tired of looking at the same old things in the same old places. What about you? Are you tired of your surroundings?

You can be your own interior designer for free! First, take a walk around your home. Make a list of some areas that need to be refreshed. Then take another walk around your home. What are some items that you could move to refresh another area? That’s the basic premise of shopping at home for free.

Here are a few ideas to help you think through your interior design process.

  1. Rearrange the furniture.

 Critique the layout of the room in which you spend the most time. Is it serving you well for its purpose? What activities take place there? Try grouping furniture pieces according to their function. Create a reading nook. Or turn a couple of chairs toward the sofa to make a more inviting conversational area. Pull some furniture pieces away from the wall to make the arrangement more intimate.

  1. Redesign your bookshelves.

 Take a hard look at all those bookshelves. Are they overflowing with books that are cramped together? Pare down. Remove about half of the books, putting some in a pile to donate and some you want to keep in storage. Consider friends and neighbors who might enjoy reading some of the books you are willing to donate. Post some as freebies on Facebook.

When you’ve decided which books you want to remain on the bookshelves, place them in small groups of 3-5 in an interesting arrangement. You could sort by color or size. Stack a few of the larger books with trinkets or memorabilia.

Go shopping in other rooms for items you love and put them on display. Create a collection of like items and arrange them in an interesting way among your books.

  1. Create an inviting outdoor area.

 Get outside and create an inviting space to read or relax. Do you have an outdoor area that needs reviving? Or do you need to shop around the house for something to create a small outside area for a personal getaway? Be creative. A bucket turned upside down could be a small side table. Or a wooden crate with a pillow might make a comfortable seat.

  1. Paint!

 Paint makes everything new again. My grandmother loved to freshen up rooms and porches in the spring with a new coat of paint. It was so much fun helping her liven things up when the weather turned warm.

 Check to see if you have some leftover paint from another project. It only takes a small amount to cover a table or a chair. Look around for that special item that would brighten up an entire area with a bright new splash of color.

  1. Bring the outdoors in.

 Are there flowers blooming in your yard? Create a simple arrangement to bring life to your den. Don’t have flowers? Cut some fresh greenery and put a few stems into a vase or mason jar. Something green can breathe new life into a room.

  1. Create interesting vignettes.

 Do you have items you have collected through the years that have special meaning for you? Pick a few of your favorites to arrange in a simple vignette on a shelf or table. They should spark joy in an otherwise dull space.

 What about mementos that you have tucked away under the bed or in a closet? Think of ways you could showcase similar items where you could enjoy the memories they evoke.

  1. Update family photos.

 When was the last time you replaced family photos? Dig out some pictures that remind you of good times and special people. Add a mat to put a photo into a larger frame. Create a gallery ledge of special photos. Think about the mood you want to create and the photos that help you establish something special.

  1. Add fresh pillows.

 Do you have winter and summer pillows? I do. And it gives me a spark of energy to bring out the spring or summer pillows and put the winter ones away. Take another walk around your home. Swap some pillows between rooms for a fresher look with what you already have. New color combinations can be refreshing.

 If you have some leftover fabric, you can easily make an envelope pillow cover and slip it onto an old pillow for a fresh new look. I have several pillow covers that I use to create a different look, depending on the mood and season.

 Think about it. You can go shopping for free in the comfort of your own home. With a few creative changes and rearrangements, you’ll have a fresh new look to give you a fresh new outlook. What can you do to spark some joy in your home?

Five 5-Minute Decluttering Hacks to Start Conquering Your Stuff

Five 5-Minute Decluttering Hacks to Start Conquering Your Stuff

“Three Rules of Work: Out of clutter find simplicity; From discord find harmony; In the middle of difficulty lies opportunity.” – Albert Einstein

Do you have a place for all your stuff? Or is your stuff stuffed into places where you can’t find it? Could you describe a lot of your stuff as clutter?

Decluttering has been a popular, or should I say prevalent, term in recent years. If you have stuff that you need to get rid of, then you have clutter. When your home is filled with clutter, trying to tackle a mountain of stuff can be quite overwhelming. In fact, it can be paralyzing. You know you need to do something, but you think there must be a commonly known place to start that everybody knows but you. So, you don’t do anything.

Here’s my advice: start with just five minutes. Baby steps are important. Sure, five minutes won’t barely make a dent in your managing all your stuff, but it’s a start. Celebrate when you’ve made that start!

Then take another five minutes tomorrow. And another the next day. Before you know it, you’ll have cleared a whole closet or a room and then half your house and then … who knows? Maybe one day you will have completed decluttering and you can describe your home as uncluttered!

For those who are overwhelmed by their clutter, here are some great ways to get started, five minutes at a time.

  1. Designate a spot for incoming papers. Papers often account for a lot of our clutter. This is because we put them in different spots — on the counter, on the table, on our desk, in a drawer, on top of our dresser, in our car. No wonder we can’t find anything! Designate an in-box tray or spot in your home (or at your office, for that matter) and don’t put down papers anywhere but that spot. Got mail? Put it in the inbox. Got school papers? Put it in the inbox. Receipts, warranties, manuals, notices, flyers? In the inbox! This one little change can really transform your paperwork.
  2. Start clearing a starting zone. Clear one area. This is your no-clutter zone. It can be a counter, or your kitchen table, or the three-foot perimeter around your couch. Wherever you start, make a rule: nothing can be placed there that’s not actually in use. Everything must be put away. Once you have that clutter-free zone, keep it that way! Now, each day, slowly expand your no-clutter zone until it envelopes the whole house!
  3. Clear off a counter. Your goal is that all flat spaces are clear of clutter. They could still have useful or decorative items on them, such as a toaster or maybe a candle, but not things that don’t belong. Only you can decide what belongs. So start with one counter. Clear off everything possible, except maybe one or two essential things.
  4. Pick a shelf. Now that you’ve done a counter, try a shelf. It doesn’t matter what shelf. It could be a shelf in a closet, or on a bookshelf. Don’t tackle the whole bookshelf — just one shelf. Clear all non-essential things and leave it looking neat and clutter-free.
  5. Pick up 5 things and find a home for them. These should be things that you actually use, but they just seem to be put down anywhere, because they don’t have a home. If you don’t know exactly where things belong, you have to designate a place for them. Take a minute to think it through — where would be a good spot? Put them close to where they would be used. Then always put those things in those places when you’re finished using them. Now they have a home, which is the ultimate goal for everything you own. That is how you can actually end the decluttering process. Do this for everything in your home, a few things at a time. If everything has a home and you put everything in its home, you will not have clutter and therefore will not need to declutter!

This should give you a starting point. Just pick one hack that seems doable to you and get started! Once you get going, the whole process may unfold as you decide what you want things to look like and how you want to live in your space.

Next time, I’ll list a few more hacks that may help you conquer the overwhelming task of decluttering. I also have some ideas for stuff for storing your stuff!

Inexpensive Exterior Christmas Decorating with Impact

Inexpensive Exterior Christmas Decorating with Impact

Every Christmas season, friends and neighbors talk about the beauty of our home. As you can see from the above picture, our decorations are a simple and traditional Southern farmhouse style. They are also relatively inexpensive and can be done quickly and efficiently.

Our exterior decorating consists of garland around the front porch, wide ribbon and other touches of red, wreaths on the windows, a tree on the gazebo corner of the porch, Christmas topiaries by the front door and candles in the windows. It’s a classic look that never goes out of style.

We bought the artificial garland for half price after Christmas several years ago. My husband has it labeled in large plastic containers, so he knows exactly where to start. Within 30 minutes, he has the garland in place, and I finish up with touches of red. I layer wide red ribbon on top of the garland, held in place by occasional twists of garland. At each porch post, I insert dollar store poinsettia stems and stems of red berries. At the porch steps, I wire hand-tied red bows with ribbon streamers around the stair railing.

The red tree with red lights on the gazebo corner of the porch shows up beautifully from the road so it doesn’t need ornaments. The two smaller trees flanking the larger one are old topiaries that needed to be discarded. However, I wrapped them in red dollar store tinsel and red lights and they also show up well from a distance.

Wide red velvet ribbon frames the front door, held in place with clear packing tape. I made the Christmas topiaries last year and they are assembled within minutes. You can see how I made them at https://youtu.be/sRVHGPTV2Cw .

Long strips of red velvet ribbon hold up the artificial wreaths (also over half-price) by securing them in the top frame of each window. For more color, I wired inexpensive red balls on each wreath. Candles in the windows are set in the middle of the wreaths for a final touch.

If predictions are for colder weather than normal, I might insert pine boughs or cedar in the garland to make it look fuller and more natural. In colder weather, the natural additions will last through the Christmas season. But often, we experience spells of warm weather in December, and the natural elements dry out too quickly.

All of this decorating takes less than half a day and everything was purchased at the dollar store or at least half price at a craft store. All decorations are kept in labeled large plastic containers, which were purchased at after-Christmas sales and stored in our barn. We have a system for decorating the house exterior and a system for removing and storing the decorations. Beautiful Christmas decorating doesn’t have to be expensive or time-consuming. Keep it simple, shop the sales and develop a system for decorating and storing the decorations.