40 bags in 40 days - days 6 & 7: the master bedroom and closet

done.

This has taken a lot of effort, but it is so nice to go through one space at a time and get rid of things that we don't need, that we don't use, that someone else could use, or that simply need to be thrown away. I truly feel less cluttered inside when my surroundings are so.

I saw something the other day that I didn't expect to see. I have been ready to give a certain box of trains away for quite some time - Tate, on the other hand, has not. I talked with him again about it while we were doing his room and I asked him if he thought he was ready. He said yes, but only if he could give it to his cousin, Owen! When we took the box over to Owen, it was Tate who was the most excited to tell him all about it and give it to him. This boy of mine doesn't part well with things sometimes, but on this occasion he was not only able to let it go, but to see the joy it brought to someone else. He was happy to do it.

Aside from the inner organization this provides for me, I hope that my children will learn a little bit of temporal charity, and develop the ability to put things in perspective, and realize that we don't "need" as much as we think we do, that we actually make a greater space in our lives for more important things when we unclutter our hearts and our surroundings. 

a fair divided excellence

I have been wondering what to do above our bed, and have been trying different ideas, but nothing really seemed to work. I wanted it to look very relaxed and random. Then I saw this post from At Home. Jaimie has an amazing eye and an inspiring home decor blog. And she just so happens to be a fellow British Columbian - an Islander even! Maybe someday I will get the chance to met her. She has created the most beautiful vignette in her home (I love the pinwheels she made! I think they would be so great at a birthday party or a shower even!). So inspired by her I was able to take items I already had around the house to do my own version and fill this space with things that are sentimental to me. 

Being over the bed, I of course had to think practically. Everything is attached to the wall or to the window attached to the wall, so they won't be falling off in the middle of the night (or when our children go jumping on the bed!!)

When Darren and I were married our good friends Jeff and Toby gave us a card with this Shakespeare quote on it - it has been my very most favorite ever since.

yellow

I have this pretty little vase that was given to me filled with flowers, after I had my 4th baby, by my dear friend Debra Moore. It just so happens to be the most beautiful shade of yellow - 1 of my favorite colors. I have been wanting to add some yellow to our bedroom, and I thought this would be perfect to sit on top of my dresser and hold my bracelets. 

This weekend I was able to paint a previously black tray that sat on top of Darren's dresser. I took my little vase and went on the hunt for a spray paint to match. After looking at Walmart and Home Depot, I went to Rona.They have the biggest and the best selection  - with about 8 different shades of yellow! It turned out really well, and it adds just the right amount of color.

The good, the bad, and the ugly

This post will probably be of no interest to anyone but myself. It is not about some pretty accessory or some exciting project. But I could not be more satisfied. 

First of all - We got blinds!! For 4 years, since moving into this house, we have used a blanket tied onto the rod during the summer and nothing in the winter. Not pretty, but it worked. 

I still have to raise the rod (it is now in the way of the blinds) and buy or sew some new curtains (after raising the rod the old ones that came with the house are too short - figures!). But for now we have privacy and darkness!

Secondly - Our closet. Prepare yourselves, these pictures are shocking. I am not a hoarder and before you judge me, please remember that our closet is the only place we have to store things such as Christmas decorations ect. since we turned half of our garage into a school room and the other half into a surfboard making shop. We do not have a basement in which to store things either. So this is our basement/garage/attic/place-to-pile-stuff. As much as I don't like it, that is the way it is.

This needed to be done in the worst way. It was one of those jobs that makes things much worse before it gets any better. And having 5 kids around while you are attempting this kind of clean-out (who are sentimentally attached to everything) doesn't help. 

Yesterday was the day! The older kids went to play at the Bragg's house (thank you, Katie!!!), the baby went for a nap (she is 2, but she is still my baby - get over it. I will be calling her that until she is 75). Tate played really quietly all by himself (rare), and I got to work. Have you heard of 40 bags in 40 days?

I think I did them all in 1 day, but it is done!

{before}

I started by pulling everything out of the closet. 

I then ignored the impulse to panic about the amazingly humungous mess that I just created in my newly cleaned bedroom.

{after}

It is still not a pretty closet. It probably never will be, but as Noelle says, "You can now walk into your walk-in closet!"

I was able to get a monstrous job done in 1 afternoon, and give everything to my father-in-law who organizes garage sales 

in order to raise money and donate the proceeds (100%) to Sunflower Orphanage organization, and I feel 1000 pounds lighter.

the way it is

I wish that I could say that when I start a project I stay with it until the end. But I do not. I flit back and forth. I almost always start a whole new project before completing the last 1 (or 3 or 4). I am also not the kind of person who feels the need for things to be picture perfect before I share them with others. My life is not perfect and it never will be. I will (I hope) always have multiple projects on the go. I need to be changing and creating. Sometimes this will mean that I won't even finish a room before I want to change it again. Darren has become used to this and is fine with it - as long as he doesn't have to do the painting!  So although it is not quite complete, it is getting close (you can see the spots on the wall where the old lights used to be. I need to sand and paint them. And we need window coverings - then I think it will actually be done). But for now here is our bedroom and our bed that got a mini makeover with the things I found on our shopping trip on Saturday! This is how I work and this is how I'll share - 1 step at a time.

our bed

With a few final adjustments (believe it or not the bed was even higher than this originally - we had to lower it a bit on account of it being ridiculous) our bed is finished. 

I still need to sew a cover for the pillow, but for now it is done.

so close.....

We are almost done! I will be sleeping in our new bed tonight....if I can get in it.

We are so used to having our mattress on the floor, that this new bed seems ridiculously high. 

{It's a wee bit reminiscent of the Princess and the Pea}

Construction Zone

Where do we build beds? 

In the living room of course!?

5 dollar find

I always look at the picture frames when I am at Winners. Using photos is such an easy way to decorate your home. While I was there last looking for mirrors, I found this frame. Its paint was chipping, and the support stand on the back was broken off. I almost didn't get it, but I thought for $5, I might as well. I am so glad I did. When I got it home I gave it a sand around the edges to make it look a little more worn and I didn't even need to make another support for the back - it is such a chunky frame that it sits perfectly happy on my dresser.

Saturday Afternoon

On Saturday I was able to sneak away for a little while to go and pick up 2 mirrors from Superstore for our bedroom. I was however feeling guilty all the way there, and was already talking myself out of it. When I got there I realized that I had forgotten my wallet at home. It turned out to be a really good thing though. I went in anyways and had another look at the mirrors. I really do like them, but I was having a hard time convincing myself to spend $50 on each mirror (hence the guilt). Since I had to go home and get my wallet anyways, I thought I might as well have a look at Winners, just in case they had anything. I can almost always find something I like there. Less often do I find 2 of the same kind though - like lamps and candle sticks. So I was very excited when I found 2 mirrors that were the right shape and had a frame that I liked. The only thing is that they were black and I wanted white. But this is not usually a deterrent for me - I will spray paint almost anything. And the very best part was that they cost $20 each - $20 dollars! I had the girl at the front hold them for me while I went home to get my wallet and happily walked out of the store with 2 mirrors for less than the cost of 1 from Superstore. I probably would never have actually bought the more expense mirrors anyways so in the end it all worked out for the best. I am now 1 step closer to completing our room.
(I also spent another $5 on something for our bedroom that I almost talked myself out of because I wasn't sure if it would work or if it was worth it. I am so glad I got it!)