Organizing Packages:
Our 50$ initial 1/2 hour consultation-includes proposal If you follow the consultation with a booking of at least 1 Session, the $50 is a credit
$200 for each Organizing Session (min. booking is 1 Session)
1 Session = 4 hours, 2 SLC Staff
Need to start small?
We have
"Mini" Sessions $77
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posted Dec 14, 2011 7:53 PM by Shawna Cevraini
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updated Dec 14, 2011 7:57 PM
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We thought we'd explain what happens in one of our 4 hour organizing sessions. I would do a video, except, I have a cold and I'm sucking on a Cepacol lozenge which has completely numbed my entire mouth! Weird, but relief to my sore throat!
Anyhooooo....
The first thing we do when we book a session with you is have a consult before hand. This is a half hour where we come and evaluate your space. We ask questions and learn more about you. After we leave, we research and plan some solutions/options for you that we write up in a proposal that we send to you.
After you agree to our awesome proposal... :)
We setup a morning or afternoon for your FOUR hour session (anything more than that is exhausting for everyone!). Both of us come to your home and tackle your project. You can be involved in the project as much or as little as you like. Generally, we work through the space from right to left, clearing items out of the space, evaluating the items (as in helping you decide if it needs to be in the space, belongs somewhere else, or can just be let go) We then implement the ideas for organizing the space and put your space back together, organized and clutter-free!
Most importantly, throughout the session, we coach and teach you how to maintain your space. We consult you and support you in your decisions. We gently nudge you to let go of things you do not love, want or need in your home. Krystal and I understand how hard it is sometimes - we've been known to even help you breathe and be at peace with your decisions. The last thing we want to do is cause you stress. The whole point of the session is to help you DITCH the clutter AND the GUILT!
It's amazing what we can accomplish in the 4 hours we have with you. You will be so excited to have the space back! You will be inspired to continue on with the rest of your home! The freedom we help you gain is addicting!
As always, if you have any questions or you would like to book your own session, please Contact Us and we'll be happy to help you!
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posted Nov 16, 2011 8:43 PM by Shawna Cevraini
Here's a quick little one or two hour task that will help you get your linen closet organized and ready for holiday entertaining. Make sure that you have a block of time that you can work on the linen closet. Depending on the size of the closet, it should take you about 1 to 2 hours of focused time to get it organized. Don't get side-tracked and work as fast as you can! Crank up the tunes and get busy!
1. Gather your tools:
- a box or a bag for those items you will be donating
- a laundry basket or similar for the items that you find in the linen closet that don't belong there
- a garbage bag for those items that really should be in the garbage
- a second small box or bag for those items that are to become "garage/oil rags"
- a notebook or calendar - whatever you use for keeping track of your to-do's
- a camera - take a before & after picture!
2. Take a before photo and then start pulling items out of the linen closet, one at a time. As you pull an item out, evaluate whether it is Keep, Put Away, Give Away or Garbage. Put like items together. For example, tea towels with tea towels, table clothes with table clothes. If there is something stained or that you don't love, consider letting it go. The idea is to only keep stuff that you love and/or use. Also, notice how many of each item you have - do you really need 5 Christmas table-clothes? What about that bedspread from 1986? Do you really need these. When you find items that don't belong here, put them in the basket - don't get distracted by taking them somewhere.
3. As your pulling, make a note of items you will need ready for Holiday Entertaining. Does the table cloth need ironed? Make a note in your calendar for when you will do it. Need to replace the napkins? Again, make a note to replace them in plenty of time for the holiday. What about sheets for the guest bedroom? You were going to replace those this year? Make a note to get new ones and put the other one in the garage/oil rags box. Another great tip that I use: I like getting practical gifts but never remember what to tell parents & in-laws when they ask what I'd like for Christmas. We often joke about having a wedding shower again after 10 years of marriage. Well, why not let people get you some pretty new linen for Christmas? I certainly don't mind it and it's a great practical gift they can give you for Christmas. Make a little list of items that you need and pass it on to those who ask you what you'd like for Christmas!
4. Now that you have your neat stacks of like items, evaluate the kind of spacing you have in your closet for these. Do a double-check and reevaluate whether you really need all of those dish-clothes? :) Are there items that you access all the time? Those get put back at the easiest spot to reach. Put the most commonly used items on top/in front on the shelf that is easiest for you to get to. Continue doing that, putting least used items in the least convenient space.
5. Take the donation box right to the car, ready to be donated tomorrow.
6. Put the items in the laundry basket where they belong - right now! - don't wait!
7. Take the garbage items to the garbage!
8. Put the rag box/bag in the garage or whereever it belongs.
9. Take and after picture and then have a warm tea or whatever and enjoy your accomplishments - check out those pictures! Isn't it amazing what you could do in such a short time! :) Pat yourself on the back!
We have videos below of our Bathroom & Linen Closets if you'd like to get inspired. If you need help getting started, we can help you do your own Linen closet with one of our Mini-Sessions ($77 for both of us for 1 hour at your house) Click Here for more information!
Day 7 - Bathroom & Linen Closet
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posted Oct 16, 2011 8:56 PM by Krystal Worth
✿SLC Project: Message Board I have been wanting to create a message center for my crafty little girl for quite, some time now. She is always drawing, writing or creating some masterpiece! With the help of my creative Mom and an afternoon dedicated to this project, we made it happen! Preparation time: 30 minutes Project time: 2hours 30 minutes Supplies:
 For this fun project I found a 24”x36” frame (on sale!). I also had cork board from the dollar store (4, 12x12’ pieces in each package. Fabric, bought from a local store. (All was less than $18). We also used ribbon, 9 buttons, glue gun, fabric adhesive, a cutting wheel, rulers and a sewing machine.✄First of all we cut the fabric into 6, 14”x14” squares (there should be about an extra inch of fabric all around to fold the material over the edges) I used a checkerboard pattern for this one so I had three yellow fabric pieces and three of the patterned fabric pieces.✄I ironed all of the material to take out the wrinkles and lines.
 ✄All cork boards were sprayed with the fabric adhesive. The material was glued on to each board.
✄Wrap the extra material around the cork board and glue corners and edges with your glue gun.
✄You can make embellishments such as pockets and/or ribbon and buttons. Personalize it to make it your own. ☺
I ❤ this cute project - it puts the FUN in FUNctional! PS. My daughter was over the moon in love with this! She can now display her photos, pictures, notes and other treasures nicely in her room!
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posted Oct 5, 2011 7:06 AM by Shawna Cevraini
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updated Oct 5, 2011 7:17 AM
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I read a post this morning about multi-tasking and all it's...crap...sorry, but that's basically it. Whenever I "multi-task", I am not doing any of those tasks well. They are half-baked (at best!)
Is this you:
- While working out, you're thinking about the groceries and forget how many times you lifted that weight - Oh, that's good enough, you say to yourself.
- Your child is telling you a story and you find your mind is on what to make for dinner and he says, "Mom, did you hear what I said?" and you can't honestly say yes.
- You're talking to a friend and texting another and don't remember half of either conversation.
- Your hubby is trying to get you "in the mood" and you realize you're thinking about laundry while he's kissing your neck
I'm not pointing these out to make you feel guilty. These are real things that I have done. I've been working hard to "be in the moment" instead of these kinds of things. I catch myself wandering and force myself back into the single-task mode.
This is single-tasking:
- When I run, I run as if that's all I do.
- I listen intently when the kids are telling me a story. I put down my phone and look them in the eyes. This isn't always easy to do, but I strive for it each time.
- I've been talking to a friend and my phone rings and my cell beeps with a text message. I don't let my eyes even wander to see who it is. I force myself to focus on what she is saying. Again, I catch myself so I push myself to ignore the distractions. It's getting easier.
- When he kisses my neck, I let the world disappear...it is heaven (and definitely puts me "in the mood")!
I am not perfect but I certainly am more aware of how my jumping from task to task affects my productivity. I know when I focus, I am able to accomplish way more. I know the value of being in the moment instead of drifting off away from it.
My challenge is to try to "single-task" for just one day. Do only one thing at a time until you finish. Focus on the person you are speaking to. Listen. Be THERE.
Let us know how it goes! |
posted Sep 29, 2011 3:17 PM by Shawna Cevraini
We’ve gotten pretty good at packing light in my house! There was the spur of the moment trip last May to Great Falls Montana where the Cevraini’s left their house with nothing but a change of clothes, some P.J.’s and a few snacks! It was one of the best weekend’s ever! (The whole story is back on my personal blog: http://cevraini.wordpress.com/2010/05/24/lewis-and-clark-adventure/ ) I went to Edmonton for the week for work in the spring, and only took a back pack and my laptop bag! I had enough clothes for the week, including some workout stuff. The picture in this post is all that I had packed. The benefit is, it usually only takes me about 15 minutes to pack and then I don’t have a ton of stuff to try to carry around! I love it! The only thing we were missing for Montana was swim suits, but we did that on purpose because we all needed new ones and they were cheaper there! LOL! This weekend, Krystal and I are heading to North Carolina for the weekend! I tease her about how many shoes she likes to take everywhere! I am going to do my Minimalist Packing thing again! Here’s my list of things that will go in my sport duffel bag (to be checked):
1. PJ’s
2. Toothbrush & paste
3. Shampoo & soap
4. Small bottle body lotion
5. Norwex facecloth – this is the only thing I use on my face
6. Norwex towel – this is light weight and dries quickly
7. Contacts, solution & glasses
8. Aspirin and cold medicine (I have a bit of a head cold)
9. Feminine hygiene
10. 4 pairs undies & socks
11. 1 sport bra
12. Capris or my other comfy pants
13. 2 short-sleeve tops
14. 2 long sleeve running tops – these are nice and are cool or warm for every day, great for layers
15. 1 yoga pant
16. 1 yoga top
17. Yoga mat
18. Swim suit
19. Sandals
20. Journal & Pens
21. Charger for the ASUS
Here’s my list of things that will go in my back pack:
1. Passport and documentation
2. My small wallet
3. Book and notes that I’m working on
4. Book light
5. ASUS Transformer eeePad
6. Small blanket
7. Few granola bars and snacks
8. Kleenex and some aspirin
9. Gum & mints
10. Lip balm
11. Water
Here’s my list of things I will be wearing:
1. Jeans
2. Long-sleeve shirt
3. Sketcher shoes
4. Hoodie
5. Fall jacket
6. Under garments of course! It still seems like too much stuff, but we need layers for being in North Carolina! It’s warm during the day and cool at night. I will let you know how it goes and what I forgot or added next week!
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posted Sep 12, 2011 8:03 PM by Shawna Cevraini
Krystal got her Office done and talks about it in this video:
Minimalist Challenge - Krystal's OfficeMy office is more a "project room" than an office. I decided not to video it because it could still use some minimalist work - it's not "ready" LOL! There are some things that could be let go (as well as projects that will clear the space once they are complete). This room is my favorite room, but I rarely spend time there these days (another blog post coming up on that one...)
This is the room where we have our treadmill, our desktop computers, computer parts (we are IT geeks) the kids' crafts, office files, office supplies, workout bench and my love...my fabric and sewing machines. It also has several shelves of my husband's past photography business stuff.
I spent several hours here and there over the course of a few weeks and did get pretty far in this room. Due to it's multiple purposes, it still seems cluttered according to our "standards" in our other rooms. However, the point I wanted to make with this post is that we don't have to be perfect to be happy with our spaces. (I wrote about Perfection the other day here: Perfect ). I keep finding myself worrying too much about what you will think of this space (the "not ready" comment) and then I realize that I'm not taking my own advice! I love the space as it is, even though it still has a lot of things in it. It is organized and simplified.
This space has my heart because it has so many of my projects and things I love to do in it. It's at the point now where I can get to the things I want to do there. It's a space where I can find the projects that I'm working on or I can sit at my desktop computer and have space to do my "work". I haven't spent much time there yet, but it calls to me regularly. Winter is coming soon, and I hope to hibernate there while the snow flies!
Items that were cleared out of this space: - 5" stack of old Shape magazines - recycled
- several puzzle & crossword books - sent to staff room at work
- 2" stack of old duotangs/notebooks that I'd kept thinking they'd be usable, but really were just garbage l - recycled & garbage
- 1 old photo printer that I never could find the power cord for (it must have been purged another time) - recycled
- 1 old motherboard (don't ask me why we had that...) - garbage
- 2 big green garbage bags of junk/garbage that could not be recycled
Some of the key things I did in this space: - only had to spend $42 on school supplies since we shopped in our "stash" first
- put fabric that I had taken out back into their corresponding sections of my fabric stash
- found my daughter's quilting project that she and I are going to do this winter
- setup my computer workstation (my hubby even pitched in and cleaned up the wiring)
- setup more space for working - writing, planning, quilting etc.
- made sure the treadmill area was clear so that it can be used
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posted Sep 2, 2011 3:48 AM by Shawna Cevraini
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updated Sep 2, 2011 4:30 AM
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I have a confession to make....I detest making lunches....there....I said it! I basically boycotted making lunches last year. Why?
Well, the biggest reason was that my spoiled darling children would rarely eat what I sent and whined about it all the time. Plus, it was just another thing that I had to rush around and do in the mornings.
My mother made my lunch for me every day up to the day I graduated high school. She has reminded me of this several times. LOL! She believes that I should joyfully make my children's lunches as well. I tried Mom, I really did! (I made my oldest his lunch until he got into high school, then he didn't want me to) With my two youngest (who are now almost 12 and 11), I decided to do something different. They could make their own lunches!
They did it all last year. There were the odd days that they forgot and I helped them out (actually, most of the time, their father did...have I mentioned how much I hate making lunches...) This year, it wasn't even discussed. They just did it! The night before the first day of school, you should have seen the lunches those kids made!!! (Yes, I forgot to take a picture!)
My son made a sub with two kinds of meat, cheese and lettuce. He had grapes, almonds and a juice box. My daughter made her sub with meat, cheese, lettuce, tomato, hot sauce, mustard and pickles. It barely fit in the container! She also had grapes, yogurt and a juice. I was so impressed! (...and hungry!) This they made the night before and without prompting!
When I got home from work yesterday, I noticed that the lunches were already cleaned up, forms to be signed were at my chair at the kitchen table and backpacks were put away. My daughter actually had a little to-do list created that she wanted completed before dinner last night! My son told me first thing what he needed for school the next day. Again, I was amazed! They had remembered the routine and again without my prompting!!! (Read my post Backpack Bootcamp for more information about setting up a routine that gets your kids taking responsibility for their stuff for school).
Then and there I made of point of "catching them doing a good job" - a management skill I've learned from work that can be applied (and should be) to families as well. The point of it is to immediately give praise when a kid (or employee) does something right. Doing this instead of pointing out errors is more successful. In this case, I glowed and chirped to them about how I was so happy they'd taken care of things. I oohed and aaahed over the lunches they'd made. They both beamed. I made sure that I signed the forms right away and wrote the necessary checks. I added the things to my list that I needed to pick up for my son. Everyone was happy and ready for the next day before dinner!
I know there will be days where this won't go so well, and that's OK. There are always crises and grumpy days to deal with. Deal with it and move on. Get right back on the routine as soon as you can.
My challenge to you for this first month of school is to try this:
- Let your kids make lunches. Even kindergarten children can help. They are perfectly capable of getting napkins and snacks out of the cupboards. They can even assemble a sandwich with help.
- Do this together and talk about the need for healthy food in their lunches (Your job is to buy the healthy choices for them so that they can choose what they want to eat!) Have a small variety of things to choose from. Too many choices leads to overwhelm in my opinion
- Have them do this the night before. After supper is a good time to build lunches because sometimes they may want something from the leftovers. Plus, it allows you to get all the dishes done and things "settled" for the evening
- Don't lose heart if it doesn't go well the first few times. Keep at it. By the time the first month of school is over, lunches will be a breeze and you can sit and enjoy a cup of coffee in the morning!
What are your thoughts on kids making their own lunches? Do yours already do this? Share with us on our Facebook page!
Also, do you need help getting your "Launchpad" cleaned up, organized and setup? We can certainly help you do that with a Mini-Session - in one hour, we can do this and teach you how to maintain it. Contact us to setup your Mini-Session! Make this year run smoothly! |
posted Aug 29, 2011 7:06 AM by Shawna Cevraini
I decided that it wasn’t my job to go rummaging through the backpacks to find out about homework and get lunch kits and papers out. It was annoying to come home from work and trip over these and then have to go through them each day! Last year, we worked hard to establish a routine for these things that get dumped right by the door (or in my case, the top of the stairs) each and every day!
It wasn’t easy setting up this routine and it certainly doesn’t happen EVERY time, but it does happen most times now. It was at the point at the end of the year if I noticed that they weren’t done, all I had to say was: “Kids, did you do your backpacks?” and they would suddenly remember and get it done!
It does take at least 3 weeks to establish routines for ourselves, so we shouldn’t expect our kids to INSTANTLY get into a routine. We have to “phase it in”; develop it into a habit. This is what I’m going to show you here. I’m calling it Boot Camp because we’re going to try to tackle it a little faster than it normally takes for routines to sink in (1 week each phase)! Boot Camps are geared to “whip you into shape” by working hard and fast! Plus, this will “boot” your kids into helping you out so that you can have more free time (and less stress) as a family!
Here’s my Backpack Boot Camp:
Before School - Week 1
- Everyone: Create a “launchpad” (I got this from FlyLady) - this is a place near the door (or where ever works for your family) where you will pass by before leaving and grab what you need to start the day and head out the door. This is great for backpacks, keys, your purse etc. so that everything is ready to go. We have ours at the top of the stairs during the school week. Let your kids help figure this out while explaining what you are trying to do. Involve them and they will “buy into it”!
- Everyone: Make a list of what needs to go into the backpack and stick it on the wall or other spot that can be seen by the “launchpad”. Again, get the kids to help with this! They can contribute ideas to the list and “dress it up” with stickers, colored paper etc!
- You: Put the backpacks at the “launchpad” - this can be done the night before to alleviate morning craziness) with homework, mitts, notes for teacher, shoes, etc. all ready to go, but ON TOP of the backpack, not in it. We want the kids to see what all needs to get put inside each day.
- Kids: Grab the lunch (that they made the night before!) out of the fridge and finish packing it.
- Kids: Put the lunch kit and all the “stuff” into the backpack, verifying that it’s all there with the list.
- Everyone: Head out the door!
Before School - Week 2
- You: Put the backpacks at the “launchpad”, empty, again, this can be done the night before to make mornings easier.
- Kids: Use the list to gather up what needs to go into the backpack - night before is best!
- Kids:Grab the lunch out of the fridge and finish packing it.
- Kids: Put the lunch kit and all the “stuff” into the backpack, verifying that it’s all there with the list.
- Everyone: Head out the door!
Before School - Week 3
- You: Have a cup of coffee and read email for a few minutes because you are ready to go!
- Kids: Put the backpacks at the “launchpad” with everything that you need for the next day already in it! Use the list if you need to! Night before = Less Morning Chaos!
- Kids:Grab the lunch out of the fridge and finish packing it.
- Kids: Put the lunch kit in the backpack and maybe verifying that it’s all there with the list.
- Everyone: Head out the door!
After School - Week 1
- Everyone: Sit down and discuss how you want to handle the backpacks at the end of the day. If you involve them, they will be more likely to do this! You might want to make a list to help everyone remember everything. Make it fun!
- Kids: Put the backpacks at the designated end-of-day spot (this might be your “launchpad”) so that you don’t have to go searching for them.
- Kids: Take out everything from the backpack and place them on top of it so that everyone can see what’s all there
- Everyone: Have them help you deal with each of these items: Lunch kits emptied with the dishes going in the sink, garbage and recycling dealt with, leftovers in the fridge (or, more likely their bellies - an easy after school snack!), agendas and notes from teacher at your designated “Parents Read This” spot (this is my spot at the kitchen table for us), dirty clothes, coats, mitts, etc. where they belong, homework to its designated spot (this is their spots at the kitchen table for us), etc
- Everyone: Go through the agenda and see what items are needed for the next day: Sign those teacher notes and agendas, get show&tell items, craft items, etc the night before and put them at the “launchpad” as discussed in the Before School! Eliminate that last minute panic!
- Everyone: Make lunches the night before. Kids really can do this themselves. They’re more likely to eat what they helped make.
After School - Week 2
- Kids: Put the backpacks at the designated end-of-day spot
- Kids: Take out everything from the backpack
- Kids: Deal with the items as planned: Lunch kits, agendas and notes from teacher, dirty clothes, coats, mitts,homework to its designated spot, etc
- Everyone: Go through the agenda and see what items are needed for the next day: Sign those teacher notes and agendas, get show&tell items, craft items, etc the night before and put them at the “launchpad” as discussed in the Before School! Eliminate that last minute panic!
- Kids: Make lunches the night before. Yes, they really can do this themselves!
After School - Week 3
- Kids: Put the backpacks at the designated end-of-day spot
- Kids: Take out everything from the backpack
- Kids: Deal with the items as planned: Lunch kits, agendas and notes from teacher, dirty clothes, coats, mitts,homework to its designated spot, etc
- Kids: Go through the agenda and see what items are needed for the next day: Get show&tell items, craft items, etc the night before and put them at the “launchpad” in the backpack, ready to go!
- You: Sign papers, homework etc. that are needed for the next day and put them at the “launchpad”.
- Kids: Make lunches the night before.
- Everyone: Have more free-time in the evening because everyone pitched in!
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posted Aug 21, 2011 8:15 AM by Krystal Worth
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updated Aug 21, 2011 8:26 AM
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 Generally speaking, the whole back to school shopping can be quite a straining process! Who wants to run all over the place searching for the ‘right’ shoes which have to be non marking, comfortable and within the budget?! Oh yeah and they (the little fashion victims) have to like them. Then there’s the rest of the clothing, jackets, socks, backpacks, lunch-kits and supplies! The thought makes me shudder. This year I am going to be ready. No ifs ands or buts. No procrastinating or running around with other parents with ‘THE LIST’ in their hands and siblings on their legs. Or better yet siblings throwing themselves on the floor out of boredom! (the children I mean - not the parents). This year I will be enjoying summer break down to the last barbecue and fruity drink... I can dream can’t I?! Here’s what you have to do now to be ready for the new school year and everything that goes with it.✎Clothing:Take an hour or two to go through your child’s closet and dresser to find out what fits. I have the kids try on the items that I am not sure fit. (I am not above bribery so I use anything from trail mix, to chocolate chips, or popcorn etc.) They get one per one or two items tried on. It is a bit boring for them so this keeps their interest for a bit. :) My kids love boardgames, bike rides and family movies too. So you can also promise them your time when you are finished; they love that! Don’t forget to make your list as you go so that it is ready for shopping time! Now... either give the clothes to a friend that could use them for their child, consign the clothing or donate them. Get the unneeded clothing the heck out of your house!Then the shopping part...I generally get regular emails from my favourite stores which let me know of the sales. So I went online to check out what they had that I needed (according to the list I made as I was going through their clothing). I can also check out prices (and sales!) So basically I already knew what I was buying and how much it would be before I even got to the store AND I got everything in two stops!! <Insert party noises here!>
✎Supplies:
I keep all extra supplies from the end of the year and so in a cupboard in our office so when the time comes I can shop from my own supplies before I even have to think about buying anything! Go through school lists; check off what you have and then determine what you need.I have to say that I am spoiled this year. Due to our magnificent parent council at our Elementary School we don’t have to buy supplies. Yes you heard me right. They organize that with a company and it is all done for us, (can you feel my excitement here?!) For a mere $30 some dollars I don’t have to spend an hour looking for that half and half interlined scribbler! I love this as a) I don’t have to do it which saves me time and stress b) It is a reasonable price and c) everyone has the same supplies.ALSO, I found a ‘like new’ trendy pretty backpack for my daughter at a garage sale for $6 and my youngest is using his same Spiderman backpack which is still in great condition. For the teen we bought one of the really durable, reputable named back packs last year. It should last him for quite some time. So we have clothing dealt with and supplies, this is a great time to make sure everyone has a lunch kit. One that is a practical size that can hold the meal, a drink and a few snacks. One that can hold a cold pack if need be. Now is also a great time to think of lunch time meals and snacks. There is nothing worse than being in that lunch bag rut. I have some ideas in this little ebook, Spicing Up School Lunches. We want healthy and fun but most of all we want them to eat it (not ditch it!) and have the nourishment to help get them through the day! So plan, plan, plan! Meal planning is such a lifesaver and a time saver. Set a side a few minutes before your shopping day to plan the weeks meals; it is so worth it. Organizing and being prepared for school will help make a smooth transition for everyone and allow you to spend more time with your children before summer holidays are over! We can help you to organize your home and even set up homework zones! Contact us |
posted Jul 5, 2011 5:15 PM by Shawna Cevraini
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updated Jul 5, 2011 5:29 PM
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Moving on to the basement...Here are our adventures in the rumpus room! LOL!
Krystal: Day 14
We are so pleased to have one entire floor of our house minimized! We have recently been working on our rumpus rooms. We don’t have video this time so we will let you know how it went!
I (K) spent 2-3 hours working on this room. It houses our movie area, bookshelves for kids and adults books as well as games. We also have some of the kids toys and gaming systems down there.
Gone
I managed to clear out a shelf of kids books - we had tons! Some board games that we no longer use are also gone. I finally bit the bullet and got rid of almost an entire large drawer of VHS movies. (We rarely watch them anymore and the ones that we love we will end up replacing as we see them.) DVD’s are much smaller and better quality anyways. Some of the old Playstation games also are gone. Our ping pong table (which was huge had to go as we didn’t have the space for it.) Lesson here would be to always measure before you make that purchase! As for the toys some more stuffies are now gone.
Kept
Some keepsake toys I kept. I have a bin of Lego, a table and chairs from my parents that was for the kids, a cradle that hubby made for Megan’s dollies, and her favourite dolls. We kept the books that we want and our fave. boardgames that we play.
Hubby also put up a couple of 1000 pc.puzzles that we had put together years ago. They were on the floor all dusty so we had to make the decision to either get rid of them or hang them. They look really neat on the wall!
My rumpus room is definitely a multi purpose room. We have a gaming and movie area, a play area with toys and another small gaming area for the little ones and a corner for my extra fridge and pantry cupboard. I like the definition of the area.
Next on the list is the computer room. Only two more to go! It feels great and I have to say that we really haven’t missed anything that is gone. ☺ We hope that you are enjoying this as much as we are!
Shawna: Day 15
This room has actually been an ongoing thing for me over the past few years. I recently let go of a bunch of the kids games and even more toys. Board games are a big part of what we do. I ended up letting go of 2 large shelves worth. This then gave me space to put sleeping bags and spare blankets/pillows on these now empty shelves! Yay me!
Last summer, I let go of every one of our over 100 VHS tapes. That was a toughie, since we’re huge movie buffs. We’re slowly building our DVD collection. I would like to find another solution for these. Right now, they fill the two DVD shelves from IKEA, plus a large piece of the shelf that runs around the basement. These are all OK, but they are spread out over 3 different places and don’t get put back as often as I’d like.
As your kids grown, they quickly outgrow their toys. Actually, truth be told, they never did play with most of the toys they had. We (like so many others) found that we had far too many toys. My new rule is that if a new one comes in, something goes out. Not to mention, I now refuse to let them bring in a ton of dollar store and happy meal odds and ends that always seem to find their way into the house. I don’t let them get stuff like that from the dollar store anymore and I encourage the kids that once they are finished with these simple little distractions, we let them go right away instead of saving them. This is a lot easier as they grow older and can understand.
The other thing that I’ve tried to do is to ensure that I include them in the process. Sometimes I have cleared a few boxes of stuff while they’ve been on sleepovers or something. What I normally do in that case is box it up and hide it for a few months. This way, if there is something we’re looking for, we can get it. The rest that is out of sight becomes out of mind.
I have kept all the Lego that we have collected over my oldest son’s 20 years. We have a special table as well as containers for these. This is also an activity that most of us dive into even now. This is another area that I’d like to find better solutions for, because it is difficult to find some of the smaller pieces. I’m not sure yet what kind of solution that will be. I have found a book on Lego storage!
We’ve been in our house for 10 years and this challenge has spurred me on to finally pull out pictures and start putting them up. This was something that I have wanted on the walls of our rumpus room. It is pretty cool to have the photos up there.
I am looking forward to the next room; the computer room! There is a ton of work that needs to be done in there. Minimalism is much needed in that space...stay tuned!
Not sure where to start? Want to make this a summer project? We can help! Check out our Organizing Packages
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