A few years ago one of my best friends, Jen, introduced me to an amazing website and she kept saying "you have to read this blog, it will change your life!" (What is this "blog" thing she spoke of because I didn't have the foggiest clue.) Needless to say, Jen was right, this "blog" was nothing short of amazing, we're talking world changing. Jen from IHeart Organzing became my new virtual best friend. Much to my delight new stuff would appear and it all spoke to me! Ever since I was little I would watch episode after episode of "This Old House" with my dad. I loved watching my grandfather build things- the smell of sawdust, and I was OBSESSED with decorating and making things better in my room. (Not my closet, that was a hot mess.) As the years went on, I fine tuned my love of anything home decorating, organization, and I still had my love of building/DIY shows. So when my friend introduced me to the blog, I instantly fell in love and it got me thinking, maybe I could do this!?!
Last year Jen mentioned in her post something about a wonderful conference she attended and my ears perked up. I did a little research and that's where I found Haven. The more I read the more I realized that I needed to be there, I HAD to be there!! I approached my husband and told him to mark his calendar because next summer, we were going to Atlanta and I would be attending Haven!!! While he had no clue what that meant, he was on board because, well he loves me and that's all. I made a promise with myself that I would have my own blog launched by the time that Haven came around, but I instantly froze up. I had all these great projects that we were doing, and my husband would lean in and say "that's blog worthy." I couldn't do it! I signed up for my own blog page and then nothing, nada... zilch. Time ticked on and as the first of the year approached so did the announcements that Haven would be opening up soon for registration. (Cue sweaty palms...) The day came when I mustered enough courage and before I knew it, I had signed up! For Haven. And I didn't have one. single. blog post. (Yikes) I decided right then and there I would do my first official one, you know- to kick things off. That was in February and again I froze. How in the world could I EVER be taken seriously if I can't do the one thing that's sort of a requirement for blogging, you have to actually post things. Somehow, someway, and 4 months later, I managed to squeeze out two more posts and did what could probably be considered the worst introduction of my new passion, I launched my site on a Wednesday at 10pm. I sort of did it, ran to bed and prayed by morning I still had friends. I woke up and what I saw made my jaw drop. People gave me positive feedback!! Maybe I can do this! Crud!!!! The conference is NEXT week!!!! Ahhhhh!!!!
I packed up our stuff, my family, and my freshly printed business cards (with very basic information) and we were off to Atlanta!!! Say what!?! I was nervous as heck! What if they didn't like me?? What if they thought I was a total joke because obviously I was an infant in the blogging world! I had that feeling of "freshman on the first day of high school around the senior girls I had admired from afar", but I did feel a smidge better knowing that maybe I'm not the only one in my predicament. And you know what, I wasn't! I met some of the sweetest people and quickly we discovered that we all felt the same way. Sure there were some that had been blogging for about a year or even a little longer, but we were on each other's side! The best part, the more experienced bloggers were excited to have us there! Speaking of which, I met the most adorable lady who was extremely down to earth, Karianne from Thistlewood Farms! Little did I know she was about to wow me in a couple of days! We all connected with one another, exchanged business cards, and for the first time in I don't know how long, I felt this breath of confidence and new life! It felt amazing!!!
The first day it was like walking down the halls of a DIY/ blogger dream!! Table after table of smiling vendor faces and all the pretties made my heart flutter. It was extremely overwhelming, I'm not going to lie. I didn't know where I wanted to go first or what I wanted to see! Breakfast felt like the first day of school, "which session are you going to?", "where is this session located?" Jon Acuff kicked off the conference with a bang, and if you ever get a chance to hear him speak, trust me, do it. He's a wealth of knowledge that one, entertaining, and motivating all in one sitting!
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| Everyone, meet Jon! |
By the end of the first day I had played with power tools, learned about turning my blog into a brand, and what I already sort of figured, I need a better camera. I was trying to absorb so much information that I literally felt my head trying to pound it's way off of my body. Then it happened, I rounded the corner on my search for coffee and there she was, the very person who had inspired me from the word go! The person who still inspires me to this day and has introduced me to more amazing blogs that I also follow faithfully. Jen from IHeart Organizing! Ahhhhhhhhhhh!!!! Great, so not only did I have to keep my head from jumping off my body I had to keep my inner fan girl on lock down. Trying to play it cool, I walked up to her (it's like I don't even know myself anymore) and I simple introduced myself. Despite the fact that at this point my hair and makeup were in their end of the day disarray, and inside I was screaming with excitement which was also aggravating my head, she was very warm and friendly. Then double shock she was with Cassie from Hi Sugarplum! Seriously amazing!
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| Jen! |
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| Cassie! |
The second day exceeded my expectations and was just as informative as the first. I took notes, and just incase my notes failed me, I took pictures. The whole time I was in awe of the information that was available to me in those two days. The people that I met blew me away and we exchanged ideas and gave each other suggestions. The experience was uplifting, empowering and humbling all at the same time. I ran into Karianne later on the second day. I told her that I was brand new, but she had given me hope that I CAN do this. Better yet, she said to contact her if I needed any help! Me! She would help me!! Blown away....
At the end of the day, my room looked like Home Depot had taken residency from all the super cool stuff they graced us with as well as all the free products from the numerous vendors. I was lucky to have won a bench in a raffle made by a very talented blogger Gail from My Repurposed Life. As well as winning the NEW Nolita chair from La-Z-Boy! I walked away from the weekend feeling like I had struck gold. I was armed with new information and a renewed sense of why I wanted to go to Haven in the first place. The ladies who put this conference together took notice of every single detail that made the experience well worth the trip. From the set up, to the decorations, to the session subjects, I could go on and on. I felt like I was something of value in a world that often times isn't as caring.
After it was all said and done, the venders were gone, we still had a chance to have one last hoorah before we all parted ways. I made memories, I gained knowledge, but I also met new friends. Life. Changing. Those opportunities don't come a long very often, but when they do, you have to soak them in. But before it was time to say goodbye, we danced!
Recently I posed the question to my friends "what's an area of organization that you're struggling with?" The response was amazing, but not surprising. I think it's safe to say that every home has an area where all things congregate, only to be dealt with later. A lot later. If I'm a betting woman, and I am, it's located somewhere in the kitchen. (Or pretty close to it, i.e. the dining room table.) Some call it the drop zone and in our family it's a part of our command center. The more people in your home, the probability that your "stuff" grows at an alarming rate. I don't need years of research or mathematical equations about proportion to demonstrate this, just my own personal experience. No matter what you call it, or where it is located, this hub is a vital aspect of any household and contains some pretty important information. So the time is now that we're going to claim this space back!
Our kitchen is not the biggest, but we have designated a set of cabinets next to our fridge that houses all things important. I don't care what house we have lived in, the kitchen has always had a space where the medicine lived, the junk drawer existed, and all the other odds and ends, paperwork etc found their home too. With each house I tried to relocate this to another space, but it eventually found it's way back to the kitchen. With the completion of school, I have begun to see this space spill over into the adjoining room and the fact that my eye is starting to twitch is not a coincidence. (And as a reminder, this is a judgement free zone, just saying'. :) )
(EEEEEEEK!!!!!)
In order to make any space better, unfortunately you have to make it worse. Before you touch anything, take inventory of what you have living in that space. Is there anything that truly doesn't belong there and if so, take it back to its home. Pulling everything out can become a bit overwhelming, make sure that enough time is set aside to deal with it properly. Otherwise you'll find yourself shoving it back where it came from and that's not productive. Trust me... seriously learn from my mistakes.
Remember those ABC's of organizing we talked about earlier? Use that to quickly sort through what you have and determine that items fate. In our space we keep our medicine, all kinds of school supplies (I have a slight addiction), electronic devices, and the mounds of paperwork that comes in and out of our house. This is what works best for us and your family may have other things that you need to live in or near your command center. Keep your family in mind when you're trying to figure out what needs to be in that space.
Most people store their medicine in the bathroom, however due to the humidity levels it's not recommended for some medications. Read the labels to ensure safe storage. I used the top two shelves of our cabinet to keep out of the reach of little hands. I found these handled containers at the Container Store, but you can easily find something similar that works just as well. The upper containers have the big bandages and items that we don't need access to as often. The shelf below we have three containers: one for daily medication, children's medication, and the last for adult medication. I saved a wipe container from when the kids were babies to house the small bandages and ointment because we seem to visit this box pretty frequently.
The last shelf I keep the office supplies that I don't want the kids getting into, but that we need from time to time. The best investment I have made is my label maker since I'm not the only one who uses this space. It's not only important to tell people where things are located, but also eliminate the excuse "I didn't know where to put it back." The little drawers are great for keeping little bits and bobbles together.
As for our junk drawer, I try to limit what goes in here only because this is the space that seems to live by its name sake and gets junked up the fastest. Having two little girls means that they have a ton of odds and ends that they want to keep hold of i.e. their games and lip gloss. This is also where we keep the chargers and headphones. Usually the girls come home with a plastic school box at the end of the school year and I try to snag it before they get a chance to destroy it, this is just one of their many functional uses.
Down below the junk drawer I keep the bigger items like batteries, plug in refills, candles, packaging material, emergency radio and flashlights, and lastly I have those cute boxes the girls can grab when they come home from school to help them do homework. If you have smaller children, you will want to be really careful about what you put in this cabinet. (I would recommend moving those batteries to higher ground.) It may also be a great idea to have a cabinet lock just to be on the safe side as well.
The countertop is where I try to keep things clutter free, which can be quite a task. I have a metal basket that I've places folders labeled for easy access. Paper that comes into the household be it mail, school items, coupons, bills all have a place to live. And if I don't want it on the counter, it's easy to stow it in the bottom cabinet. My girls have their own folder for passwords on websites, permission slips, and each week I keep one to two items from their work that I really like (and when they're not looking recycle the rest...shhhhhh) I love my kiddos, but you absolutely cannot keep every single piece of paper they've wrote on or crafted, at least I can't.
We found out the hard way that our new fridge is only magnetic on the side so this cute galvanized metal envelope from Target is held on with the super strong magnets. This is where I put the party invitations or tickets for upcoming events. We also use a magnetic spice container to hold the box top labels for school. The printable is from my most favorite website i heart organizing, found the plastic holder at an office supply store, and we use dry erase markers to update each week.
Keep in mind this is just one example of how you can utilize the space. I've considered putting a little tool kit in this space so we don't have to run in and out of the house for a screw driver or tape measure. However you decide to use remember that you're not the only person who will be using it and they may need certain items to be there as well. It could be a good idea that once you've finished your space that give your family or housemates a tour.
After!!
