Improve the House: Boy's Room

I am slowly working on the List I talked about here.

First up was my boy's bedroom. The plan for this room was:

Boy's Room
-Clean up closet
-Tidy desk
-Identify out-grown clothing

I started with talking my boys into putting on the clothes that I had saved from last year, to see if they could still squeeze into them. They responded to this with about as much enthusiasm  as if I declared I was redecorating their room with flower patterned curtains. I tried to tell them that we were having a fashion show, but being boys, this didn't interest them. Finally, I just gave up and bribed them with the chance to watch their favorite movie on DVD if they would give me a half hour of their time to try on clothes. This worked...bad bribing mommy!

Most of the clothes didn't fit them, and I wondered once again why I keep so many each year.

Where I am from we would call these pants High Waters.

I made a pile of clothes that no longer fit. I will donate these to a local store run by a service organization.

The summer clothes that I decided to keep were put in a bin to store in their closet.

I then released the boys from this clothes-trying-on-drudgery,  and they went off to watch their movie. I took advantage of the 92 minutes of quiet, and really set to work on getting their room back in shape.

The only thing that could be described as big in our small 1920's house (great charm, great location!) is my boy's closet. At the moment though, their stuffed animals had apparently exploded inside it.

After a quick tidying up, I could see the floor again.

Oh...such happiness!

I took all the bulky clothes out of their drawers and hung them in the closet.

The drawers were then nicely arranged. I had to take a picture because this is the last time they  will look like this.

Next up was tackling the desk. It quickly went from this....

....to this. My older son now has a place to do his homework.

I can now check the boy's room off the list.

Check out the Link Up to I Heart Organizing.

Clean Up My House

Via

 

My house is officially a mess. Some of this is due to the formerly relaxed pace of summer and to the current hectic life that the start of school creates. But mostly it is due to laziness on my part! I let mail to be sorted stack up for a few days, put the kid's many toys in a corner of their room instead of the bins designated for them that are two floors down, or let laundry pile up because by the end of the day I am just tired.

 

But while in the short term this "putting it off till tomorrow" mentality gets me what I really need (i.e. sleep), in the long term I look around my cluttered, disorganized house and feel STRESS.

 

So I am making a list...did you expect anything else...detailing all the steps I need to do to get my house under control. My first impulse is to spend several days working round the clock and just get it done. But then I remember that I have work, kids activities, and sleep that I need to fit into my schedule, so I know I won't be able to give such a large chunk of my time. Also, I keep telling myself that Rome was not built in a day, and neither will my house be perfect in the same amount of time. I am putting the finishing touches on my plan and will share it with you tomorrow.

 

Via