I had company in town until yesterday. It was one of my best friends and her family. They recently moved to a town about 4 hours away from us after living halfway across the country for years. It's wonderful to have more opportunities to spend time together and I just love how great our kids get along! Her kids are pretty much the same age as our kids and we all had a good time together.
One of the things I was resolved to do now that the Holidays are complete and our company is gone is organize our garage!!! In Florida, we don't have basements, but most people, including us, also never park our cars in the garage! Sooo...a few years ago we turned it into a playroom for the kids along with storage.
Our home is wonderful, but it is VERY easy for it to get full of clutter, especially with two kids and a messy-by-nature mom. (that's me!) I'm still working out the best ways to de-clutter and I'm learning that if I can just take about 20-30 minutes each day and one to three hours on the weekends each weekend for a while...I just may be able to CUT THE CLUTTER!
I started last weekend....even before New Years...because I've been buying things like a mad woman to work with new tablesapes! So I realized I had NO ROOM to put all my new treasures unless we went through and got rid of some bins of stuff. I went through about 5 bins and just started purging. However, while I was going through these bins, some from YEARS ago, I found a couple really cool treasures! My mom had given me the cutest old box with stationary in it. It has a flip up top and a little drawer at the bottom! It was incredibly cool! It also would go great with some of the new dishes I bought as a tea/hot chocolate/hot cider packet holder! For New Years Day, I used it in a nice new tablescape for my "continental breakfast bar" at my kitchen counter for our guests!
It worked just perfectly!
I also found a few other fun decor items which will definitely be used in future tablescapes as well as a TRIFLE BOWL! I had been wanting one for several months since I saw a few neat trife recipes on Pinterest and totally forgot that I had already bought one at a garage sale years ago! I had just put it away and forgot I even had it. I was about to go buy a new one...thank goodness I didn't!
Now I can make awesome trifles like Paula Deen's RED VELVET TRIFLE! Oh dear!!!
This is going to be my Valentine's Day dessert...in my old "new" trifle bowl!
I got this picture from her site...and here is the link to her recipe!
YUMMMM!
http://www.pauladeen.com/recipes/recipe_view/red_velvet_trifle/
So, I'm learning that organization and simplifying DOES have its rewards!
Have you found any unexpected treasures while organizing your home? How do YOU organize? How often do you go through your things? I sure would love to hear from you!
This blog post was featured in "Share Your Cup Thursday". Great blog! http://jannolson.blogspot.com/
this cake looks sooo yummy :)
ReplyDeleteGreat idea!
ReplyDeleteLove the red velvet, I will have to give this one a try!
All the Best,
Christine
I luv finding my own treasures safely tucked in piles. U sure put it to work in a lovely set up.
ReplyDeleteThanks everyone! I am excited to try it too. It looked heavenly when I saw it...and now I'll actually be able to make it! Thanks so much for stopping by! =)
ReplyDeleteI love organizing. Just makes me all happy inside. I really get the bug after Christmas. Been going through a few drawers and will hit pantry and master bedroom closet next week. I am a collector so it's easy to get all cluttered up. Wish I didn't love so darn many things. lol! Your little box is not only functional but oh so cute! Trifle is one of my favorite desserts! Thanks for sharing with Share Your Cup. And thanks for the sweet shout out!
ReplyDeleteHugs,
Jann