Baring it all

It's not what you think.  :)

Ok so I have finally decided on my project!

Are you ready freddy?

Freddy!
Are you ready?
Pay attention, why don'tchya?

:)

It's......THE HOUSE!!!  I know, I know, not terribly exciting but I am thrilled about it!  How did it start?  Well first it stemmed from really wanting to get rid of a very boring mirror that sits above our sofa.  The mirror is blah and we need more color in our living room so I've been thinking about a painting.  So my project stemmed from there but then....

Rich has been helping his friend buy a house and one day he told me that he was feeling that the houses are such a deal that he was thinking about....you know...a new home!  The thought hadn't really crossed my mind.  Not sure why.  Just because I think that we're comfortable here and we definitely don't need more space.  So that mini-conversation happened and it put a little bug in my ear.  I started to think about the house and all the things I really liked about it.  There were only two things that kinda irritated me.  One - our backyard is somewhat small for the dogs and I hate hate hate the huge cement wall that is about 8 to 10 feet from the sliding door.  I feel enclosed in and don't feel comfortable relaxing outside.  Two - I don't like that the den and the guest bedroom are on the 'other side of the house'.  It feels too far away from the rest of the house.  So much so that we call it the 'other wing'.  And we never go there even though we have a den that we could potentially hang out in!  Oh...and there is one more thing.  This is Rich's house.  He lived here for 4 or 5 years before I moved in.  I still feel like I'm living in 'his space'.  I don't necessarily feel like this is 'our house'.  It's really not a big deal but I wonder how we would feel if we picked something out together and made it ours. 

So last weekend Rich and I talked about the future and more so the near future and the house.  I told him that I've kinda got the itch to look at houses but at the same time I am so satisfied with the house that we're in.  After talking about finances and the loan, we decided that now wasn't the right time which I am totally 100% fine with.  And actually what it did do is give me the breathing room to really invest time and effort in to our house now.  I'm very excited!  I think it's our shot at making the house 'ours' more than 'his'.  And maybe I'll even get more storage space out of the deal!

So what's in store?  Well first....Operation De-Clutter and this is where I bare IT ALL.  Are you ready to be blinded with clutter?  Here goes bloggies!


Exhibit One - Cabinet where we keep all the odds and ends.  Can you tell which is my corner of the cabinet? 

Exhibit Two -the desk drawer.  The picture actually makes it look organized but trust me...if you stick your hand in there, you might not get it out.  This is the hubby's drawer.  Did I mention that he's a rat pack?  Wait.  Pack rat?

 

Exhibit Three - where Rich stores his precious collection of Casino chips (insert eye roll) and where I keep my Bed Bath Beyond coupons as well as check book.  Don't ask me why but that's the place and I hate it.  Oh and let's not forget half chewed up dog toys go here as well.

Exhibit Four - the laundry room.  Enough said.  Urgh.

Exhibit Five - the bedside table drawers in our guest bedroom previously owned by Rich.  I only rifled through these once and found old girlfriend pictures.  Yup.  That.  Was.  Awesome.  Hubby was promptly teased thoroughly and they were thrown away.  Who else knows what lurks in here!!

Exhibit Six - the den.  This used to be my serene spot in the house.  Unfortunately I then went and painted it a grey/purple which sounds beautiful in theory but instead I felt very closed-in in this room because it's so dark.  Not much sunlight comes in either.  Makes me want to color it Easter.  :)
So what else is going on in this picture?  Yup...left over wedding stuff.  First we piled it all in the guest bedroom.  Then we had guests staying over one night so we did the sensible thing and moved all of the wedding stuff junk in to the den where it has stayed ever since.  Urgh - I'm dreading taking care of this!

Exhibit Seven - more of the den.  Sigh.  Yes we even have a small collection of pillows that are currently hanging out underneath my art table that we need to store.

Exhibit Seven - the closet in the den that stores all the things that Rich swears he's going to read, swears she's going to wear, swears he's going to do, etc, etc.  One.  Day.  In.  The.  Future.  :)  Did I mention that he's a rat pack?  Pack rat?  This closet is my arch nemesis of closets and will be the BIGGEST task so far.  I know it doesn't look like much but trust me - it's STUFFED in there.

So my friends, there you go.  I dare you to bare it all as well!  It's actually somewhat liberating although I will admit that I felt like I was doing a home inspection whilst taking pictures.  :)  This weekend, we might tackle the cabinet in the first picture.  One thing at a time, right?

After Operation De-Clutter is over, then comes painting the walls that are white (there's a lot of them).  We also have one wall that has absolutely nothing on it.  Don't believe me?  Take a look.

 

We I have big plans for this wall.  I want to paint it and then put a console table by there with a pretty lamp.  Then fill the wall with pictures of family and friends.  I think most people have some sort of wall like this and I really want to get going on this project as well!

So!!  There it is!!  That is THE PROJECT.  Phew!  I feel exhausted just thinking about it but it'll be good.  Rich has been pretty patient and supportive so far.  So far.  :)  We are also on a new regimen in the house which is called...Pick Up After Yourself.  It's working pretty well in the dining area, kitchen and living room although today I did find a teeshirt that Rich threw on the sofa.  Grrrr.  I swear!  But other than, we're both doing really good and it's so nice to at least have the main areas be mess-free.  I'm very proud of both of us especially my hubby because he really is trying.  It's only been about a week (ha!) so we'll see if we can maintain.  I really would like to because if we have kids I really want to teach them to live this way vs. living in a pig sty.  Oh wow, my Mum just came out in me! 

Well, that's about it for now!  Do you have a project that you're working on?  Care to share?

Peace,

~kavita