Tackle It Tuesday: June 30th

Our future ballet bedroom- back when it was just a skeleton.  

Since then, our sheetrock was hung, mudded, taped, and sanded.  

THEN I took over.  

Step 1: clean dust from every nook and cranny.  

Step 2: wipe down the ceiling and walls.  

Step 3: Prime closet, ceiling, and walls.

Step 4: Paint ceiling.  

Step 5: Paint lavender base coat on walls.  

And here's where we are on this Tackle It Tuesday!  Still a work in progress.  

Next step: Paint brushed pearl finish over base coat.  In my dreams, this room will feel like a Lisa Jane print when we're all finished... In my dreams...

See more Tackles here!

Tackle It Tuesday: June 23rd

Dear Tackle It Tuesday,

I so miss our posting- it's been nearly a month. Quite inexcusable! We both know that I've been very busy tackling the house, the renovation, the pool, and the van. Why just today I spent hours power washing the concrete and deck around the pool, transforming the gray, nature stained surfaces into brilliant shades that resembled the luster of their early years. And guess what else I tackled today? The aftermath of dry wall sanding. Oh yes, I spent several more hours sweeping, scraping mud globs off the floors, vacuuming, and mopping the floors three times. That's right, I've been a very busy girl!

It's my fault, really. I've failed to photograph these tackles. Shame on me. I promise that next week will mark a new start between you and I. Once again, I will share my embarrassing before photos and proudly display the fruits of my labor. Don't worry. You are still an inspiration to me, Tackle It Tuesday!

Kelley

Tackle It Tuesday: May 26th

The TUB. It can be such a relaxing, peaceful corner of the house. It holds the 

potential for repulsion. Thankfully, mine had not come to that, but the soap scum and rust from our drain plug were enough to make me crazy!

Before: Yuck- the soap scum and hard water that build up in my shower!

After: Squeaky clean and ready for candles and a good read!

Tackle It Tuesday: May 19th

You all thought I was going to break my streak, didn't you? In all honesty, I was wondering if I'd get a chance to tackle today as well! But when I put my son into the tub tonight post-ice cream, I realized that some tackles can't be put off until tomorrow!

Before: Now, finding a way to fit five people's toiletries into this tiny bathroom AND keep it put away is next to impossible.  To cope with a one bathroom house with no linen closet to speak of, I've lived the last 4 years as a minimalist when it comes to beauty products.  I keep one bottle of nail polish at a time, share lotion with the babies, have only one towel per person under our roof... you get the picture!  The past few days have been a little crazy around here, and we've been on the go almost constantly.  All the running around has allowed me to miss the storm that was brewing behind the bathroom door!  

So while my son lost his coat of melted ice cream to the suds, I got to work!

After: Viola!  Not too bad- normally there would be a shelf full of folded towels above the toilet, but the laundry's lagging behind a bit... And THAT is a tackle for another day!

See more Tackles here!

Tackle It Tuesday: May 12th

Last week, I moved all the kids toys into their room. No more toys with small pieces in the common areas of our home! However, I found that the mess that was already in the kids' room became a war zone with the added toys.

Before: My son's "room" was separated by the curtain from his sisters.  However, he's been freaking out lately about the monster that is hiding behind his wall.  He falls asleep by the door most nights.  

Before: And this is the other half of the insanity that comes with 3 kids sharing a room and trying to fit Mommy's clothes into the closet too.  Ugh.

And the tackling began...

After: The clothes are tamed, but the work books and coloring books are already about to get strung out again- oh, the life of a SAHM!

After: I decided to rearrange the room a bit in an effort to help my son stay in his bed at night. Hopefully being closer to the door will help him out.

After: And I created a play/toy area in the process!  I'm not sure how long it will look like this, but at least it will be clear where the toys belong!  Next on my to-do list will be to create or purchase a toy organization system of some kind.  Baby steps... 

Happy Tackling!  

See more Tackles here!

Tackle It Tuesday Cinco De Mayo

Amazingly, I did a lot of tackling this week, but my Tuesday Tackle was LONG overdue! I have limited cabinet and storage space in my tiny house, so the top of the fridge serves as another shelf. Usually cereal boxes can be found there, and the platters that are too large to fit in any of my cabinets are stored there as well. Over the years, we've started to use the top of the refrigerator as a place for "off limit" toys. Those are either toys that have been confiscated or those, like play-do, that need supervision.  It was getting out of hand!

Before: lots of clutter, and a mess of powdered sugar courtesy of the little monster.  

After: Clear!  (Just don't look to the left where my laundry is already sneaking back into my hallway.  At least it's just one hamper!)

Tackle It Tuesday 4/28

Anyone else have a place where everything gets dropped?  It seems like my countertop is cluttered more often than not.  It's not usually dirty, just piled with papers and the like, so it's the last priority.  Today I sucked it up and sorted through the junk!

Before: I think this pretty much speaks for itself!  

After: Yay!  A place to work on homework out of reach of toddler hands, and a whole pile of stuff returned to my mom's!

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Tackle it Tuesday: April 21st

Another Tuesday! Today I finished tackling before we left for school. In fact, I did it while my daughter was in the shower! I tackled the dreaded...

Tupperware Cabinet!!!!

Before: A pile of tupperware, paper plates, plastic cups and lunch boxes was crammed inside this cabinet.  What makes it worse is that the cabinet is blind, so you access the 3 foot wide space from the 18 inch door opening.  Add to that the fact that this is the one cabinet that I don't have a child safety lock on.  Not good!

After: Lids matched to containers, cups neatly stacked!  I was hoping to discover a lost collection of tupperware in the back corner, but no luck!  It just goes to show that tupperware really does disappear like socks in the dryer!  Maybe I'll safety lock this cabinet too.  I better do it quick; otherwise, I'm certain it will be in disarray by the end of the week! 

Tackle It Tuesday

Yes!! I'm considering myself officially successful as this is my second-in-a-row Tackle It Tuesday accomplishment! My world will be orderly in no time-- or maybe not if I only tackle on Tuesdays! Such is life! Today, I decided to tackle my kids' mess at Grandma's house. We moved the Wii there to play while their aunts and uncle were home for Christmas (yes, you heard me- almost four months ago!), and there it has set getting more tangled by the day. Compounded by post-Easter candy sneaking (note the wrappers), the television cabinet became a hazard zone Sunday and yesterday!

Before: A wad of electronics, game cases scattered around, and general disarray that appeared this afternoon.

After: Wii returned to it's rightful home, Windex and elbo grease used on the television screen, and we're back to a child-free appearance!

Tackle It Tuesday

Those who've visited me can attest to the fact that I have 5 people living in a 900 square foot house right now. I love babies, but the need to have toys in the general area of the house kind of drives me crazy! My oldest was 5 when she became a big sister, and I had just succeeded in relocating the last of her toys behind her bedroom door. My house no longer looked like a day care play room! However, my honeymoon conception soon brought about the need for high chairs, toy boxes, exer-saucers and swings in the main area of our house. I was too blissfully engulfed in my newborn to care at the time that my clean, entertaining-ready house had become consumed-- again. Now, after 3 years of baby gear, I find myself wanting to scream when I look at my family room sometimes. It can be clean one minute and in less than an hour look like I haven't picked up in a week or two! Seriously.

My first Tackle-It Tuesday mission: My Family Room.

Before: This is what my family room looks like on laundry days (and for a day or two afterward). There are baskets and piles of clean clothes all over because I do laundry during nap time and can't sneak into the kids' room to put theirs and mine away (yep- I share a closet with the kids). Inevitably, items get scattered around by a 3 year old looking for a super hero cape or wanting to build a tent.

After- I didn't shove everything behind me- Housewife's honor!