1. Moving all toys out of the living areas and into bedrooms and playrooms (with the exception of adorably cute art projects and books).
2. Tossing out enormous eyesores that have been masquerading as furniture for the past decade.
3. Acquiring new pieces of furniture and decor that I have personally selected for my home for the sole reason that I like them (and not because they are free, a good fit with children, or so cheap I can't pass them up).
4. Masking existing furniture eyesores that I cannot really afford to replace right now.
My latest initiative has been to acquire pillows. I figure that if I get enough pillows, I will forget how ugly the couches and chairs really are. At this point, I've purchased about 10 pillows and feel like I'm a bit of an expert. I've bought them from retail stores, on-line shopping groups, and my new favorite, etsy.com.
If you're not an etsy.com shopper yet, you should be! People make and sell a lot of really cool stuff! Like pillows! Like smelly body lotions! Even pasties! (I only know this because etsy.com sends out a newsletter and much to my suprise, there are a lot of people at home sewing pasties in different colors and shapes...who knew?)
If you are in the market for pillows, my absolute favorite pillows are from the esty shop, http://www.etsy.com/shop/marygamelin. Not only are they beautiful, but they come wrapped up like a present. It's just like my birthday or mother's day.... I select the gift, I pay for the gift, someone else wraps the gift and gives it to me. "Why that's exactly what I wanted! How did you know?" Best part, they are reasonably priced.
Here's my awesome new pilled from Mary Gamelin. See, even though I'm moving all of their crap out of my house, I still like like them enough to buy a pillow in their honor.
! Reclaim your life !
ReplyDeleteSeveral years ago, my older daughter moved into the adult bedroom in our house to escape from her 3 yr old sister (literally lining the perimeter with all of her toys, stuffed animals, gadgets, puzzles, etc). As a mom, I’d given up nearly everything else…but this went too far. It was time to either move into a tent in the backyard or build a master bedroom onto the house. The desire for private real estate, my own quiet spa space, won the day and we undertook a major addition to our humble house. Our master bedroom is now the most beautiful (and sought after) space in the house. I still negotiate for "my space", but at least now only my spouse and I have names on the title and deed. And my daughter has a room of her own painted with bold orange and aqua-blue stripes (think circus tent teen cool).
! Live inspired !