Tackle Clutter Tuesday #2

So here is week 2's installment of Tack the Clutter Tuesday.

The front closet.

Again one of those hot spots that seems to end up a dumping ground.

Here is the before...

Yup, everything all shoved any which way.

Once again the key to making things better seems to be to purge ~ which I did

A while back in a magazine, probably in Martha,  they used a hanging sweater thingies to help organize all the little things that end up in closets.  Usually these things are stored in baskets up high or on the floor.  The great thing about using these is that it keeps stuff at eye level (both mine and the kids) which makes putting stuff back easier and I'm all about the easy.  Now when I open the closet doors I don't feel like I'm at risk of being buried alive. 

It's nice when baby steps make a big difference.

Ice, Ice Baby

Snowmeggadon is quickly becoming Icepocalypse.

The snow has gone from fluffy white snow to frozen sleet incasing everything in ice. 

It has warmed up a bit and with that means slush will turn to black ice once the temps dips tonight. 

The ice is so much more dangerous than the snow.
At least with snow you have a chance.

So now we wait.

Will there be school tomorrow? 

I'm suposed to sub tomorrow.

I think I'm  hoping for a snow day more than the kids.

:0)

Snowmeggadon 2012

We all know the story of the little boy who cried wolf.  In the Pacific Northwest our version is called "The News Said It Was Going to Snow"  Ever year at the sight of the first snowflake we are told to brace ourselves for ARCTIC BLAST (insert year here).  More times than not, no snow.  Maybe a light dusting if you live up north.  My friends Sandy and John could give any local reporter a run for their money with their coverage of Snowmeggadon 2012 in Browns Point. (I wish I was kidding)

Now since these ARCTIC BLAST don't usual show up when they do it puts all of Western Washington into a complete tail spin.  No one can drive in the snow so no one goes anywhere.  This half of the state literally shuts down.  Tacoma Schools closed schools for Wednesday before a flake was even seen. 

Well this year they were right on (who would have thunk it). I must say it took a little longer to arrive than expected but it came in spades and we woke up to 7 inches of wonderful snow. 

Rumor has it more is on the way.

Since we had been hunkered down for the past couple of days already I was feeling a little cabin fevery.  My mom and dad just live a few blocks away so I drug Ben with me and we went for a walk in the snow.  It felt great to tromp through the snow and breathe in the fresh cold air. 

In an attempt to document our adventure I brought along the camera.  When I told Ben to say "cheese" he replied, "what's the point?"  Snow and a 13 year old boy, ya gotta love 'em.

Hope you are all nice and toasty wherever you are.

Tackle Clutter Tuesday #1

I'm hoping these Tackle Clutter Tuesdays will help me keep on track and accountable, so here goes...

I decided to tackle one of the "hot spots" in my kitchen.

While I do love my little kitchen, the cabinet selection was clearly built by a someone who was more worried about the bottom line than efficiency. Case in point ~ blind cabinets. Seriously who thinks these are a good idea?

Anyhoo, this cabinet is such a catch all and gets messy quickly. With the help of my trusty assistant (because I'm seriously too old to be crawling into a cabinet) we cleared it all out.

The tupper situation has always been a thorn, so we played the "you need a lid to stay" game and went from this to this.

After a little purging and rearranging, I was able to fit everything back.

What a difference and truth be told it took 15 minutes. Next up the coat closet...

:0)

Little Things, Big Difference

I just love the feeling of getting stuff done. Kind of makes me feel like this

My friend once told me that the last 20% of a project takes 80% of the time. I completely agree and so would the numerous 80% completed projects that inhabit most of my closet space. So in the spirit of a new year and fresh starts and all that gobbledygook I decided to tackle something that has been bugging me.  So at 10 o'clock on Friday I tackled my dining room chairs.

I scored these babies at a garage sale. They are SUPER sturdy and just what I was looking for. However, the red, orange and yellow fabric I was not loving. The clear plastic on top of that was also a nice and very practical touch, but I just got the point and I was over it. I knew I wanted to recover them so when I spied some nice chenille on clearance at JoAnn's I snagged it up.

It was 4 bucks a yard. Recovering a chair cushion could not be easier: unscrew seat, lay on top of new fabric, staple fabric, rescrew seat. That is is exactly what I did. I'm thinking it took probably 2 hours for the whole project, but I get sidetracked easily.

The new fabric is so subtle and much "quieter" than the old fabric. 

As for the final results ~ I LOVE it. 

Blogging

So with the start of the new year I told myself I would blog more.  However, I'm still trying to figure out what I want to say.  I spent some time reading old posts and it was interesting to see what kind of things I blogged about.  It was mostly about family, a little cooking and trying conquer the clutter. 

So I'm giving myself the weekend to collect my thoughts and map some sort of plan.  In reading the old posts I realized how much fun it was to put my little life out there.  I've "met" some really neat folks through blogging and I hope the connections will continue throughout 2012.

Stay tuned...

:0) Laurie