7 Days to an Organized Home

First, let me begin by saying that I am a fan of organization. Unfortunately, I have difficulty applying it to my home. I have great ideas, and I love reading magazines and articles on how to organize a home, but they just aren't working for my family.

Have you ever seen those lovely pictures of a perfectly organized closet, and thought to yourself, "I wish my closet could look like that." Then you realize that there are only seven shirts and 4 pairs of shoes. Well, that would never work for me! I need something that can organize dozens of shirts and at least 10 pairs of shoes. I need something for real people.

Since I can't find my guru externally, I have decided to become my own. I will devise an organizational system based on the many parts of other systems that I liked but just couldn't make work. This will be my franken-system. I'll write a blog for each day, stating my goals and then tell you how well (or even if) those goals were met.

I'm going to do it in 7 days. Why? No good reason, it just seemed appropriate. The best part will be that I don't have to commit to 7 days in a row, either! I will do one day at a time, and if it takes me a week to get to day two, well, I'm not hurting anyone but myself! And so...on with the show!

Baby Quilt

So, I'm a little behind. I've been busy with projects, just not of my own choice! We've been moving and working on the addition to our house. Plus, it's summertime, and there just isn't enough time for all the crafts I'd like to do!

My sister's baby girl was born in December, and the good auntie that I am, I still hadn't given her a baby gift! My sister and her family were coming to visit (they live far, far away) so I really had to bust it to get the quilt finished for my sweet little niece!

I am not much of a "quilter", so my quilts are rather childish and simple. And for heaven's sake, don't look too closely at the stitching! But I think this one turned out pretty cute.

My sister and her hubby are big mountain fans, so this pattern is supposed to resemble the mountain range I see out my kitchen window, in a cartoonish sort of way.

I now know exactly why the lady at the fabric store suggested a "walking foot" for working with the minky fabric (the purple stuff). It does NOT slide very well, which tends to bunch up the the other fabrics.

My sister LOVES statin blanket binding, so obviously I would include it. (She will sit and run it through her fingers for hours without even knowing she's doing it! We gave her a lot of grief about it when we were kids!) But I choose this super cute, rainbow colored thread to bind with. Not a great idea. This stuff is like tinsel, and it would break every couple inches. I was very frustrated with it, but managed to finish the project without throwing the sewing machine against the wall. (It was a close call a couple times, until my husband reminded me how much "fun" I was having. I hate it when he's all rational. It puts a damper on my tantrum.)

Anyway, better late than never! Welcome to the world, Baby Natalie!

Kitchen Painting

The kitchen re-do is amost done! (I've only got a couple more coats of clear coat on the countertops, but for all intents and purposes, it's done.) Here is a before:

Take note of the wonderful mismatched cabinets and lovely 1975 yellow laminate countertop. Now, with a little paint, and some sweat equity, here is our new kitchen:

The blue tape is not part of the color pallate. It'll come off when all the clear coating is done!

The cabinets were all painted white, and the wall was painted a tan/taupe color.

The countertops are painted. (Yes, painted.) I sanded the countertops, just to take off the shine, then put on a coat of primer. The first coat of paint was a tan, with cream and charcoal grey sponged on. (We used a plastic grocery sack to sponge it one...worked great, and didn't absorb all the paint!)



There just isn't much I could do about the cracking edge. Oh well, it still looks better than it did before!


Finally, I put on a coat of polyurethane (clear coat) to seal the paint. It needs about two more coats before I can really use it. They say you can scrub it and everything, but I think we'll be a little ginger with it...at least until the "real" remodel, hopefully sometime next year.

All in all, it doesn't look two bad for under $200!

Baby Booties

I live in sheep country. There is a Wool Growers Association here. My father-in-law, and his father before him, raised sheep in these hills. Our high school mascot is The Sheepherders. (You can't even make that up!)


I tried for years to come up with a project, a craft of some sort that I could make for all of my girlfriends and relatives who were expecting babies. (And I have a LOT of friends, and even MORE relatives!) I found the answer in the traditional baby booties.


It's perfect. It's simple. It's quick, which is particularly important when you get the informal, "By the way, we're gonna have a baby shower for so-and-so this Saturday. Can you come?" (Usually comes on a Thursday.)


The pattern is based loosely on a pair of woolen baby booties my aunt brought home from Ireland for my infant daughter. The pattern is tradition and unusual in these modern times, which makes it stand out at baby showers. Paired with a pattern I was already using I was able to make it my own. The upper portion is knit in one piece, then stitched down the back. The sole is a piece of fleece, leather on one side with fluffy wool on the other, which makes them non-skid and still super cozy on baby's feet! A ribbon through the eyelet row helps keep them on little kicky feet.





And, the most important part, I make them with Sweet Grass Yarn, the wool grown locally and processed in a way that allows the natural lanolin to remain in the yarn. And of course I package them in a custom, hand-painted box featuring (what else?) fluffy sheep.

It's a very personal gift that I am quite proud of. Hopefully I will continue to be able to use local wool and support my local sheep ranchers!

Blue Skies are Gonna Clear Up ♪

I painted a room! I know, you're thinking, "big whoop." But I have never done it before, so it is an exciting time for me! I've never really had walls that belonged to me before, so I can't wait to start on all the other rooms!

I started with my daughter's room. It is the smallest, and it actually had drywall to paint. (All the other rooms have paneling) I painted three of the walls white, leaving the wall that is wallpapered alone. (I think it's ugly, but my daughter doesn't mind the cutesy cartoon mice with pink and purple balloons, so whatever...)

But the big fun was in her closet. It's a nice sized walk in, and because she has about 5 items of clothing than need to hang, we've made the closet into a playroom of sorts, where she can set up her Barbies and Littlest Pet Shops in peace. So following this theme, I painted the closet a sky blue and sponged on fluffy clouds.

I think my first attempt at painting was fairly successful, and I can't wait to get my roller on all that ugly paneling...

Holiday Pause

Every year I think about all the cute, crafty things I can do for the holidays. And then I remember what they are actually like and give up. During the holiday season, Mom is luck if she gets to sleep a few hours a night, much less trying to get any crafting done. I always have grandiose ideas, but there just isn't the time.

Hopefully the crafting will pick up again now that they are over. Here's hoping!

Coming Soon:

• Still working on those socks


• Still working on those baby things. (Although they might be outgrown by then!)


• Have got a major painting project in the works...still in the planning phase