That was... I think last Friday. I promised to clean it up so I wouldn't pass out from embarrassment and then give him a shout. And here we are at Wednesday.
DANGER ZONE indeed...
I got it clean. For awhile. But then the 'big rebuild of the nests' started once again. And today I'm totally back to square one.
Guess that's a problem I'll always face. When you LIVE in your portfolio that is.
For that's what our homes are. They aren't just a place to live anymore. You know that right? If you're taking this dive into the world of decor seriously and wanting to make something of it, gone are the days when your livingrooom was just a place to crash.
My cat hasn't been enticed to visit my bedroom in months. Might be due to the missing quilt that tends to live on the floor. I don't understand the magic of the quilt. When did it sprout it's own legs? And where are all those pillows anyway? But moreso... whatever happened to the cat??? Which reminds me... one curtain panel is missing. It's gotta be on the floor like it is every so often.
I'm going to add a label to this post under 'bed making tips.' Maybe I'll revert back to it from time to time for inspiration.
*lump in my throat*
What lovely memories this one conjours up. See that antique white/glazed coffee table? Set just so with my layered vignettes? (not to mention all the 'floor throwers' not on the floor)
Ahhhh, THERE you are! (to the left. on it's side. I want it BACK)
Ahhh... the boy's play/guest room.
I think this is the only part that resembles what it does in the pictures. I really miss this room...
Ok, now here's an area that stays relatively the same.
IF you sit on the floor and look up like this that is.
I think you're seeing a reoccurring theme here, yes?
(hey.. I just found my keys! And my CAT. I'm so glad I took this picture)
Sheesh!
How do I get around this big fat issue? Every so often I treat myself to a 'showhome day.' I'll start in one room and really go to town and do it up right. After it's done, I'm inspired to do another. (unless I stop to blog about the first of course.. don't stop and blog about it when you're on a roll)
I think my friend will have to wait juuuust a few more days for me to catch up. But I personally think there's GREAT merit if he just hangs in there abit longer.
He's going to get to see some NEW stuff I haven't even blogged about yet!
And I will! After I remove the sticky tape and price tag off this table of course. And clean it up. And more. You know how it is. I call this the 'stop drop and dash' decorating method.
So! Hows things in your little staged up world?
Could you honestly kick the door open for guests at any given time? What do you do when they want to come and see what you've done to your house? I need some help here...
I never really thought about my house being a porfolio but you are so right. What a clever thought.
ReplyDeleteUmmm...not so much on the last minute stop bys. If someone drops in, they'll get a dose of reality. I used to say that the kids will let me have one clean room at a time. Now that they're older, I thought that would improve, but the sad truth is that it remains the same.
ReplyDeleteI'd rather live in my house and enjoy it then be a zealot about everything being in it's place. That said, I'm usually trying to put everything back together on Mondays. The weekends seem to be the worst.
Andybody who may want their home to look good at any moment of the day take a look at flylady,net and go to 'beginner babysteps'. I've started this system and my house looks a MILLION time better than on any given day before I started. I'm actually making myself a chore board with all the fly lady steps. I should be posting it in a couple weeks (and of course linking up to saturday nite speacial!) so go check out flylady.net!
ReplyDeleteKimra
crafty-cove.blogspot.com
kimraskreations.blogspot.com
As long as the company doesn't look in the closets...I'm good. But there is just the two of us. I always try to pick up before I go to bed. Then in the morning, I just do whatever needs to be done, make the bed, dust or vacuum. Now, when I am crafting, the desk is a mess, but then, you have to have a place to work. I love your rooms and I can understand why he wants to come see it. I love seeing rooms "in person"!
ReplyDeleteGuess I've been under a rock. This is the first time I've reda your blog! Love it of course!
ReplyDeleteHospitality, that's a tough one. I have come to the conclusion love me, love my mess. I have major issues with people coming over. But love me, love my mess. Our house is lived in after all. :)
Heather
And obviously I can't type either! Read, not reda.
ReplyDeleteMy upstairs stays company ready. Yes, there might be a stack of magazines on the coffee table or such... but that's life.
ReplyDeleteDownstairs is my kingdom - I mean hobby room, the laundry room and the 2 car garage. These are not "public spaces" and folks aren't invited to go there. (Unless they have offered to do the laundry... then they are MOST welcome to go down!!!) My projects live down here until they are done. Small crafty ones in my hobby room... big ones out in one of the garage bays.
I'm doing my own gitter done to clean out the shed so stuff waiting on being redone can live out there.
(BTW... Love the song but that is one of the strangest music vidoes I've seen! LOL)
My house is not generally catalog or photo perfect, but anyone who is close enough to drop by is close enough to know better anyway! I try not to stress about it too much, though if I get one of those be-there-in-10 phone calls, I turn on the Scentsy warmers, wipe down the mirrors and counters, and put the dog toys back in the basket. Speaking of which, I think you have just inspired a blog post...
ReplyDeleteCarol
antiquetexan.blogspot.com
I completely understand! I live in a place where my neighbors "drop" by ALL the time, I normally don't mind, but I don't like them to see just how much I let the "mess" get away from me. I normally just try to keep the common areas clean...the rest is by appointment only!;)
ReplyDeleteI'm so with you!! Yep the house is not always perfect - that is because WE LIVE HERE. We really really live here...so I'm not going to always worry about everything being in place...Yeah it can look good here and there but there is usually a pile to pick up here or a project to put away there. If there wasn't - that would mean I wasn't sleeping (at all)! Every now and then - I pretent like we're gonna sell the house and start clearing....you'd be surprised how great that works to 'edit'!! :) Thanks as always for being real!
ReplyDeleteI love seeing the messes. It makes us real. You are real, right? 'Cuz sometimes I wonder. LOL! Lisa~
ReplyDeleteI try to keep the house 'presentable' but the definition changes from time to time. What I am always curious about are bedroom pictures - if I believed what I see in magazines and online, I'd think I was the last person in America to keep an alarm clock and a box of tissues on my bedside table. I'm not, am I? ;)
ReplyDeleteYou can tell how I am feeling just by looking at my kitchen. If I am in a good mood, the counters are clear and clean. If I am feeling depressed or headachey, it is messy, with mail and coke cans all around. I think we ALL should view our homes as our portfolio. In the past, like the 40's to the 70's housework was important. Tidyness was the norm, because people used to drop by to visit. People who were messy were ones that I didn't know. Despite having unmedicated ADD, I am figuring out the easy way to do things. I have my keys on a long purple NYU lanyard. If I go to a big store, or a flea market, I wear them around my neck. May look dumb, but I have no anxiety. When I come home, they go on a hook. Purse under the hook. I always park the car with my windows closed. Never have to worry about rain. I still lose things, like lists, and letters to mail, and forget to do things but I am trying really hard to simplify my life.
ReplyDeleteI guess I am lazy. I don't want to have to run through the house because someone has run out of toilet paper, (I have a strange house with six toilets) so I have multiple rolls in each one. Lately, I have been reading the Apartment Therapy 8 week program book to improve your house, so I am simplifying, and purging, and rearranging. I really don't need 18 coffee mugs since no one in our house drinks coffee. I have cancelled a million catalogs and a lot of magazine subscriptions, junk mail hardly makes it into the house. I find that the neater things are, the better I feel, and the better those around me feel. I also don't need that many things anymore. I know what size vases are needed for what grows in my yard. My shoes aren't wearing out. My clothes don't seem to wear out and I have to force myself to stop wearing some of them. I have a Kindle and a laptop. So I am okay, I just need to be a little neater.
Design Sponge introduced me to the Pomodoro Method. Google it. You work for 25 minutes. (One pomodoro?) 5 minutes break then repeat. after 3 pomodoros, you can stop for a while. It seems to be really efficient.
Donna - pay Mr Lego to keep some of the areas picked up. The Duggers (19 kids and counting) call them Jurisdictions. Your neighbor probably won't even notice the mess, he just wants to see your desk. Men are like that. My husband can have 8 weeks of mail and magazines and work stacked up in the kitchen about 6 feet high (no kidding) and doesn't even notice it. Anyway, sorry for the random post. Ann
I [try] to do the 15 minute tidy up in every room every day, does this always work? NO.
ReplyDeleteIt's respectable but when son was on the couch last weekend looking towards the kitchen breakfast area he says; "it's falling"
to that I replied; "what is?"
He says; "the giant cob web from the vaulted ceiling over the table"
OMG! I would have been reeeeaaallly embarrassed if anyone had seen that, so I guess I'll add five more minutes to each tidy and look upwards from now on :(
Oh Boy can I REALTE! Here I am looking and drooling over perfectly decorated rooms in magazines and in blogland. I am in the process of giving my home a much needed facelift which has been a blast but how to conquer the mess of everyday life leaves me perplexed. I have two messy kids and a messy hubby who seem to think I have nothing better to do than to pick up the trail of stuff they leave everywhere. My dining room has become a dumping ground for yard sale finds and half completed projects on deck to go to the shop. I would say 90% of the time if someone unexpected came to the door they would be greeted with chaos and clutter! Oh if only my home would look as good as the pictures I put on my blog!
ReplyDeleteIf it makes you feel any better, my room is so full of boxes (for our move in 4 weeks) that I have to sleep in my son's room. I would be completely embarrassed if someone saw my room...er, storage room.
ReplyDeleteOur house is usually such a mess that if someone stops by I meet them in the driveway and show them my flower garden instead :)
ReplyDeleteBless you!!!!! I'm so glad to know that your house doesn't really always look like your pictures of it! Makes me feel soooo much less inferior! LOL!
ReplyDeleteoh my gosh! I can tell you exactly what i would do if someone came to my house right now.
ReplyDeletewe would have tea in the front yard!! Not letting anyone in!
Bad enough mess on normal days, but 4 days down with hurt back? no way are you getting in. =)
love your blog dear friend.
blessings
barbara jean
I'm reminded of someone who wanted to come visit a few weeks ago. It did not deter her when i told her my house was a mess. She said "I'm not coming to see your house". So, we threw everything in the other rooms, and guess what she did after we visited in the tidy living rom for a few minutes? Yep, She asked for a tour of my house. Can you believe that???
so i showed her all the messy rooms. after she left i thought i should have told her no. she did not come to see my house. hindsight.
Hi Donna-
ReplyDeleteTell your neighbor, once you get something done, staged, and shot it's on to something new and that your house is only so big-so you have to kinda re-do the rooms as you go with your new projects. You can't let a set number of spaces hamper your creativity now can you?
My best-Diane
My house is an absolute pig sty most days....I have 4 kids with me all day long. *sigh*
ReplyDelete#7 Teri,
ReplyDeleteThe music video... yeah, weird. But rather suitable in a round about way. His bedroom looks exactly like mine!!!
(sorry if it offended anyone, I hadn't watched the entire thing through)
Donna
I used to have a blog, and I really enjoyed it. I love writing, taking pictures, sharing, and honestly, I think I'm pretty talented :P HOWEVER (and this is a big fat however), I gave it up. The pressure to live in that portfolio was too great. I found I wasn't making decisions based on what worked for me and my family, but what would look the best when I photographed it. I still have an urge to show how beautiful and magazine worthy I think our home is, but the best favor I ever did was release myself from that burden. I still post my pics on facebook, but no more blog. I just don't think some people can handle the pressure. And by some people, I mean me!
ReplyDeleteI have a plan... lol. No really I always do laundry and pick up throughout the day but everything must be in it's place before "daddy" gets home. The evenings are much less stressful for me when things are all in their place before dinner gets started. All dishes must be done before bed, I love nothing more than waking up to clean shiny and "empty" sink =) I do not clean on the weekends. I mean really if everyone else gets the weekends off, then so do I. Mondays are a big rough cleaning the aftermath but who likes mondays anyhow? I have a bit of OCD "Obsessive cleaning disorder" so I don't usually have to worry about having droppers by. It's when things start getting messy that I stress and feel like the walls are closing in on me.
ReplyDeleteI totally get it. I finish my dining room and the table and chairs sell. I finish my guest room (almost) and now it's almost bare. Craziness. I'm a poor bed-maker as well...meaning my pillows are most often on the floor. You are not alone.
ReplyDeleteIf you are coming to visit me, stop by ANYTIME. If you are coming to visit my house, make an appointment! ;-) Speaking of visiting me, I'm having a give away so if you have a minute stop on by!
ReplyDeleteI am right there with ya sister. 9 times out of 10, I crap when the doorbell rings! Between the babies & 50 works-in-progress, I am inevitably grabbing an arm full of junk on the way to the front door to hide it or kick it out of sight, and apologizing for the chaos. My home was never like this until I started blogging. Hope I have one room finished before the holidays! Such is the life we lead. It doesn't help that most of my guests don't know what a blog is so they just think I'm an unorganized mess. lol
ReplyDeleteHugs,
Jami
I call it my dirty little secret...my house, that is!
ReplyDeleteYes, I can open the door to visitors, but they will see dog hair on the floor, dishes in the sink, and won't be invited upstairs!
Maybe someday it will all be clean...but that will probably be when my kids area grown up and living on their own, and what fun will that be?
#27 Jami, LOL!!!!!! Priceless. The whole 9 yards.
ReplyDeleteNothing like someone walking in and you have wooden palettes strewn all over your sofa. "Oh, yeah, that... we weren't gonna sit anyway were we?"
My wonderful neighbor wants to borrow my table saw. It's BURIED in the back of the garage with no way out. Guess I'll pencil in a TOTAL GARAGE GUT after breakfast. Anyone wanna join me?
*weep*
Donna
A beautiful BC licence plate. I looked at those most of my life. Now I just see Idaho plates. Cant wait to see what you dow ith it.
ReplyDeleteI feel your pain sista! I have people coming this weekend. Just found out! Crap I am going to be busy tomorrow. Yet, why am I on the computer right now you ask? Avoidance.
ReplyDeleteI am fortunate to live in a country where you can have a maid at a relatively reasonable cost as employment is scarce. I don't know what I would do without Judith - she keeps me sane! I have a home which is rather large and I would never ever manage on my own. I do my bit on the weekends and I do the laundry (not the ironing- I'm useless at that!). My studio on the other hand is my department and absolutely ALWAYS a mess. There are always craft supplies lying around and I hate having to take anyone in there - i'm running out of excuses! LOL!
ReplyDeleteLove your blog BTW, and so enjoy your decoratin style. Gorgeous bedrooms and love your blogging table!
No my door can't be kicked open at a drop of the hat. I live in my art studio...which is my entire house. Projects everywhere!! No room is safe. Ha! I do have someone come in and clean but then it's back to art supplies and projects everywhere. Sigh!!
ReplyDeleteGood friends know...others...well they are not invited!!
Hugs
SueAnn
Donna:
ReplyDeleteYou don't know me from Adam, but I want you to know that you have been my Biggest inspiration since I found you about 8 weeks ago. I too am a junker, believer and single mom. I haven't however experienced the loss of either of my parents, I actually spent yesterday with my mom on her 65Th, quite spectacular when you add the fact the I am closely aproaching 49! Thank you so much for inadvertatnenly speaking out to me...you are quite amazing!
Stephanie
My house is in TERRIBLE condition right now. I need to clean the bathroom at least, because it is harvest season and the farmers (father in law and grandpa) will be coming in to potty and see their beloved grandson every so often. So yeah, I get it!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Donna! I am feeling better. I think I am more on the same page as Merritt from above - maybe blogland is just too much for me. I don't know - we'll see. But it definitely makes me feel better that even your home isn't perfect all the time. I really, really thought that people lived like magazines - like Martha Stewart does. I feel better knowing that most people don't.
ReplyDeleteDanielle
Oh man, if you only knew how much I needed this today! I feel like a rabbit caught in the headlights whenever the doorbell rings and I see it's somebody who actually wants to come in!
ReplyDeleteHi btw, just found my way over from Transforming Home