Reader's Space: Overflow to Organized

Wow, what an awesome response I have received from the Toy Rotation Strategy post earlier this week.  I love hearing how you guys implement ideas from this little blog! 

Today, I'm going to share how one Call-to-Order reader took her child's room from Overflow to Organized.

However hard we try, this area of my daughter's room ALWAYS stays messy.  It ends up being an  overflow toy area.   Lovely, right?

Child's Chore Chart

I recently implemented a Chore Chart system for my 5 year old.  She loves having a sense of purpose and order.  Just like her momma:)

After reading around and thinking about chores that would challenge her but that she could accomplish mostly on her own, I decided on 5 chores for her to do daily.

-Feed the dog
-Set/clear the table
-Put away laundry
-Pick up toys
-Make bed

Some of these chores (like feeding the dog and putting away laundry) were a big deal to her.  And honestly, a big deal to me.  I have had to "let go" of the way I think it should be done and let her do things her way.  So what if the clothes are not still folded the way I think they should be?  They are still in the right place and available to be worn.  So what if she likes to leave a trail of dog food so that our dog can "sniff out" the food?  The dog is still eating, right?

The bottom line is teaching her to be self-sufficient.  These chores help accomplish that end.

Toy Rotation Strategy

I recently created a toy rotation solution for Sister's room.   One of my favorite solutions is the IKEA Expedit Storage Solution.  Stacking is not a good idea for kids (in my humble opinion) because they cannot SEE what they have so therefore they FORGET what they have.  So we decided to go vertical and we have never looked back. 

 

However, each week more stuff gets stacked on the bookcase and we end up with this...

Potted Plants

Since my post earlier this week was about creating a Spring Garden and today's post is about Potted Plants, you may think that I actually do a lot of gardening.  You wold be mistaken.  I garden twice a year - in the fall I do pansies and in the spring I do sweet potato vine.  I may add another annual or perennial in the mix, but that's basically about as much as I can handle.  #thetruth

Our local Lowe's didn't have any sweet potato vine yet so I went to Calloways.  Oh Calloways.  You have such a lovely layout and superb selections.  I headed there with the kiddos in tow so I knew I needed to find what I needed FAST.  We managed to only pull about 8 flowers off other plants while there.  That's pretty good in my book.

Side note: last year, we added in a built-in grill area and hung large bulb string lights from the pergola and purchased new patio furniture.  We LOVE how it all came together.  We sit out there once the kids go to bed.  Divine. 

We also have 4 large potted plants in between the pergola columns.  We have a boxwood in the center and then change in seasonal flowers around it.  Last year our sweet potato vines were out of this world.  So long and oh so lovely.

Pansies are so incredibly hardy and can withstand crazy Texas weather.  They provide great color during the fall/winter months, but now it's time for them to go bye-bye!

How to Create a Spring Garden

Springtime = lovely flowers = learning about God = spring garden

This area in our backyard needs some serious TLC.  Our sprinklers haven't been doing the trick in this spot and I realized it too late, so the plants are mostly dead or dying.

Pretty sad, right?  Plus Charlee (our dog) has been intensely focused on digging up this area.  While I'm at it, I'll explain a few other things.

1) We decided against renovating our detached garage while doing the house renovation. 
2) We DID have every intention of painting the outside gray to match the house.
3) We didn't realize we forgot to have the painters paint it until 3 weeks post move in.
4) Hunter green was REALLY in during the 90's.
5) The whole garage needs LOTS-O-LOVE, but at the moment it's not getting any.
6) You are up to speed now:)

Makeshift Mudroom

I would like to have a mudroom.  I really would.  I love the idea of a room dedicated to things like backpacks, shoes, boots, and jackets. 

A few months ago, I started brainstorming about how I could bring a makeshift mudroom to my house.  After thinking and thinking and re-thinking, I finally thought of the perfect spot.  This little corner.

 It's right between the kids bedrooms and the kids bathroom.  I originally put the bookshelf as a safeguard to keep the kids from opening the little trap door.  Back in 1926, this door was used for easy access to the bathtub plumbing.  It also has a drop into the crawl space beneath our house.  #scary #dark #darkandscary

It has basically served as a place for random toy storage.  Enter the makeshift mudroom idea. 

 

I used this bench that I had in the kitchen area.  Fits perfectly, right?  I used a basket from the previous bookshelf and voila, the beginning of my mudroom.

It came together for $0 and about 30 minutes of work.   My Makeshift Mudroom.