It has been a good week for organizing and completing projects. Not exactly all the projects I had planned, but I think it’s good to stay flexible. I finally got those pillow covers made for the master bedroom, and I couldn’t be happier. Credit goes to Jenn, who suggested the envelope closure so I wouldn’t have to mess with zippers or velcro.
I added some flowers, and it’s a pleasure to work and rest here in my little suite.
I also intended to get those knobs onto the closet doors, but abandoned that project in favor of overhauling the big kids’ rooms. On Saturday we had nowhere to rush off to, so we dug in and worked.
Miss Six, sorting through the contents of her bookcase.
Here’s only a fraction of what we purged from their rooms:
I removed several bags of garbage and recycling, and freecycled a Barbie camper and cruise ship that were taking up prime real estate in the bottom of Miss Six’s closet. The rooms are certainly not magazine worthy. They retain a certain amount of clutter (they call it “treasures”), and what they choose to display is not always what I would choose. But we weeded out all the toys they don’t play with anymore, the hidden candy wrappers and crumpled school papers wadded into desk drawers, the baby books and the broken crayons. Now there are dedicated drawers for craft supplies and American Girl accessories, shelves for Legos and Zoobles. The jewelry is all put away, and all the hair accessories are corralled in a cute tin pail.
Mr. Nine now has room to display his precious Lego Harry Potter sets, his cayman head keychain and his ship in a bottle.
The books are alphabetized and there is a clear surface on the dresser to display his new karate trophy.
I was able to vacuum the floors for the first time in weeks (a month?), now that there is no longer any danger of sucking up a valuable Lego piece from Diagon Alley. We washed all the sheets and dusted all the shelves. Both kids have even made an attempt since then to make their beds.
I did say “attempt.” Good enough for me, and the cat, too.
Home Baked 
Ha! We just did this with “Miss Seven and Miss Ten” it felt good for me to get things organized, even though it isn’t my space, per se. I remind myself that I am teaching them valuable skills (every few months- LOL.) And I completely understand about those lego pieces…we have that set, but Gringotts has yet to be built.
I’ve been working on the boys’ rooms for two weeks! My back is broken, I think, from hauling out toys and clutter.
Great job!! Yay for clean kids’ rooms. Okay, cleanish. Mine are cleanish.
I think cleanish is the best we can hope for. If it’s too clean, there’s no room for letting them work on a large project that takes time and space (whether it’s Legos or a fort or an elaborate installation of stuffed animals). If the bed is too perfectly made, it means I made it, and they didn’t get a chance to try. If the artwork is hung just so, they probably didn’t have a say in what decorates their space. It’s hard for me to give up some control over their rooms, but I hope giving them some ownership over it gives them room to dream and grow and maybe even practice a few skills (putting their own clothes away, making the bed, organizing their belongings). I hope.
Well, as you know from last week, I’m all TOO familiar with the kid-clutter. Except I can’t really get mine involved to “help.” The purge has to be done in secret. I love the fabric on your pillow…recognize it from the Young House Love blog.
That’s where I first saw that fabric, too! I was looking for something else, but I kept coming back to it, and I’m glad I did.
The cushions look great! Glad to hear the envelope covers worked out.
My little guy is just learning about how Harry Potter lego pieces go missing when not put away, he asked if we could open up the wall because a few pieces rolled under the baseboard-less void between the wall and floor, and fell down, down into the deepest darkest bottomless nether regions of our house.
Cleanish kid’s rooms are shear perfection. 🙂
Love that map-covered dresser. And hooray for envelope-backed cushions. I made a few this Fall, and was amazed at how easy it was!
Sam’s room is up next in our house. I desperately need to vacuum in there and it would be nice to be able to make it in and out with out stepping on Legos. I would be so happy with a cleanish room. Congrats on both of yours!!
Toy purging is always rough, great job! And I love those pillow covers.
Looks great to me! There’s just something about fresh flowers in the house, isn’t there? The hubby got me three roses for Valentine’s day and I was struck by the fact of how they bring a smile to my face each time I see them. I think I’m going to have to make more of an effort to buy flowers once a month or so to liven things up in the house. By the way, I LOVE the map dresser in your son’s room – did you make that?!
I love the flowers; those were $2.99 for the bunch, and they were so pretty! I am looking forward to June when I can cut some from the garden, though. I did make the map dresser–it was a freecycle dresser in pretty bad condition, but I painted it and Mod Podged the maps onto it. It was a fun project, and it’s great storage. Since it was free, I don’t mind the inevitable wear and tear from a 9-yr-old!