Happy first day of school!

The lackadaisical summer days sapped any productivity and motivation from me. But, we are back from all of our summer vacations, Jerry is back at work and I am resuming a more regular schedule and the anticipation of a routine has given me a swift kick in the pants to get stuff done! And, not in an obligatory way but in an “I’m excited to make progress” way.

Last week, I wrote about my family room re-design project that I’ve been mulling around my head for the past couple of years and decided it was time to start tackling that space. (You can read about how I process out a room re-design here).

We shed some tears over the cleaning out of trunks, play kitchens and cabinets. All of us. The entire family. Okay…maybe just the kids and me. I got rid of craft supplies I haven’t touched in five years, books that I’ll never read again, games that we’ve outgrown. The thinning out of “stuff” that isn’t necessarily fun but feels oh so good. The girls and I cleaned out their play kitchen and boxed up all of the food, dishes and accessories to sell. We compromised on keeping the kitchen stored away in the attic rather than selling it to pull out for future children (not mine, but theirs…weird).

The kids posing in front of their “new” toy six years ago!

I posted my sectional sofa on craigslist and facebook to sell, feeling like I couldn’t do much until that was out of the way. I brought one trunk and four large wooden crates and containers to the shop and I took everything off of the walls and patched the holes so that I could start over with my home decor. I figure I’ll be using most of the stuff in the same room, but switching the placement and arrangement will give it a fresh look. And, I rolled up the rug to switch out with a rug from another room.

I’m holding off on painting the room because I know the minute I get a new couch and rug in there, the color palette will look and feel different.

With everything off of the walls and the superfluous pieces of furniture and accessories out of the space, I feel like I can rethink the entire configuration. But first, I need to get a couch. Until then, I can patch walls, freshen the existing paint and clean some of the long forgotten corners. Stay posted to see how the new couch looks in the space!