EXPEDIT Explosion.

There has been one in my house.  We have five, yes FIVE, EXPEDIT shelving units from IKEA in our house and I kind of want one more.  They are just so perfect and you really can't beat the price.

EXPEDIT #1 in the play room

EXPEDIT #2  also in the play room

EXPEDIT #3 in my workspace

EXPEDIT #4 in my son's room

EXPEDIT #5 in the family room

We have had so much fun with the box from the one most recently purchased:

1.  a ramp for cars

2.  hide and seek with a bunny

3.  the perfect spot for playing with a big bowl of fake oranges

4.  great for bowling with a fake orange and puzzle pieces

5.  baby yoga

6.  dance floor

7.  the aftermath

I hope you are having a great week!!

Play time...finally!

For a long time I have had a love/hate relationship with toys.  Of course love wins, but I have always had a ridiculous fear of toys overtaking our house and having it look like a preschool or a toy store or just a massive mess.  Our home is on the small side, so dedicating an entire room to toys and books and puzzles was just unfortunately out of the question.  As I mentioned before, our dining "room" was virtually unused and since we still have an eat-in kitchen/family room, we decided to donate that table and make that area a play space.   Room is in quotes because really it is not a room.  It is a portion of a room...a nook...a tiny nook.  :)  We are making it work, though.  Since the other half of the room is a living area and also the first room of our home that you see when you walk in, I wanted the spaces to flow and to make sense in our home and I didn't want the toys to be the first things you see.  I wanted a cohesive space and while we still have some things to do, the play area is really taking shape and we have already spent some quality hours in there.

Before checking it out, I thought I'd show how the space has looked in the past.  It has had it's share of changes over the past few years.  When we first moved in, we had it as our sitting area:

Then we flipped the room and moved the table to that side.  Unfortunately, I never really took pictures of the table area because it left a lot to be desired.  Often it was just a bare table where I worked on art projects or blogged, other times it housed holiday decor:

treats at my son's first birthday party

Halloween 2010

Though you can't see the table, this Christmas decor was on it!  :)  (2010)

the day of the move (2011)

I wanted the play space to be a fun, creative area while also still making sense with the decor in the rest of our home.  I didn't want the space to seem disjointed in any way.   Here is how it looks now:

So that's it!  Connor runs in there as soon as he wakes in the morning, so I am going to pretend he loves the design of the new space, not just the toys.  :)

A few details:

• The shelving and accessories were already in our home, just taken from other rooms, so this was a free makeover.  
• The mirror on the right wall is metal, so not only is it perfect for face-making, but also letter magnets!
• The easel was one of his Christmas gifts from us and is currently doubling as a kitchen/grocery store, with a bin of pots, pans, and utensils underneath, next to his car.
• My husband and I made that penguin from a box.  I 100% copied the one from Gourmet Mom on-the-Go when we had a penguin party for Connor's first birthday.  My mother-in-law helped me sew felt fish bean bags to be thrown into the penguin's mouth.  They are in the bucket next to the penguin.
• I still have that bowl of corks in this room.  :)  Joining them are two (aluminum?) trees my parents gave us as part of our Christmas gift.  I love them!  They will be perfect for Christmas, but I plan to keep them up year-round.

Now we just need to finish the seating area on the opposite end and then this room will be complete.

No more secrets!

It is huge for me to post before photos of our master closet...HUGE.  It was an embarrassment.  The rest of my house is clean and organized 99% of the time, but for some reason I could not manage to keep any order in the closet!  I have been talking for years (!!) about how I need to just get in there, sort through everything, donate the unnecessary, and call it a day...but nope...I just kept letting it get worse and worse!  It was definitely my dirty little secret...but not anymore!!!  I spent a good part of the weekend going through piles and piles of old sorority/fraternity formal t-shirts, shorts I haven't worn since college, shoes covered in a nice layer of dust...OMG.  I even found one of my favorite shirts that I thought was surely gone forever.  It was a happy reunion.  :)  The amount of #@$;%*^# wire hangers we had is shocking.  My husband's shirts for work are dry-cleaned and those hangers just began to take over.  I let it happen.


Have a nice life, wire hangers:

I would love to say they we got new beautiful wooden hangers for everything, but since I have an aversion to folding clothes and putting them in drawers and I hang everything, all wooden hangers would have been very expensive.  I really mean everything...like my 54 tanks in every color of the rainbow...I am not joking.

I think we will gradually switch over to all wooden, but in the interest of not spending a small fortune, I opted for all black hangers.  I do have one wooden hanger on a hook, not only as a reminder that we will one day have all wooden, but as the hanger for my outfit for the next day.  Now for some photos!!


View from the doorway...before vs after:

My husband's side of the closet...before vs after:

 

My side of the closet...before vs after:

That cubed shelf above is a cd shelf I have had since college.  It is now the home to my scarves and a few tops I no longer wear, but that have sentimental value.  :)  I also have a few of my favorite InStyle and Vogue magazines up there for inspiration and my little stool (actually a side table from Target, on sale for $13) for when I need to sit and put on shoes or flip through the magazines when I am hiding from my family need to reach a scarf.  ;)

My jewelry was taking over my husband's dresser, so I decided it needed a house of its own.  I found two flatware sorters for $5 at Marshall's for my necklaces, and a multi-shelf cabinet organizer step thing (?) also for $5 from Marshall's for my earrings.  The tray I had elsewhere in our home and the little white pinch pot housing my rings was made by my niece.

I just cannot even begin how to express how much nicer it is having a clean, organized, cheery closet!! 

 ...I am trying to think of some sort of project for all of those wire hangers.  Any ideas?  ;)

Dirty Little Secret

Happy Monday!! I am so beyond excited for tomorrow's post!! The following images inspired me to make a big change in our home and conquer my dirty little secret:

The two images above are from Nicole Balch's (of Making it Lovely) gorgeous closet.

contemporary closet design image found via Houzz

eclectic closet design image found via Houzz

Be sure to check back tomorrow for a fun reveal!!

Magnets!

Going along with my anti-clutter lifestyle (ha ha), I feel that refrigerator doors could use a makeover! What? No pictures of my babies, no reminders, invitations, no pics of my kid's art?? Well, not exactly. I have no problem with those things, just don't junk it up so that they fall on the floor every time I need to open the fridge. [Magnets shown above]

Let's organize our refrigerator clutter and make it a little more pleasing to the eye. No need to remove all signs of human life from a home, but let's make it have a cohesive look. Let's make it look like we intentionally put each item in that exact spot. Let's make it pretty!

How precious are these mini magnetic frames from CB2? At only $1.95 each , these would be just perfect to capture those family memories!
Have a stainless steel fridge that will not accept magnets? How about these adhesive magnet strips from fridgedoor.com ?
Or these from CB2:
To keep your message system handy, check out this Mesh MagNet Organizer from Organized A to Z.com!

These bamboo file boxes from solutions.com hold up to 15 pounds! Stick in a few folders and you have instant organization with a contemporary flair for all of those papers, coupons, recipes, and menus!

And if you just can't stand the thought of organized fridge doors, how about some beautiful magnets to give your clutter that cohesive look? :) I have fallen in love with these handmade marble magnets from seller thePurplePear found on etsy.com! Check out some of her work.


Clutter on your fridge is clutter in your life, so take a step back and see what you think. Whatever you decide, just make it pretty!