january goals for decorating and housekeeping

once i decided that january would be focused on decorating and housekeeping, 
it was like my eyes were opened...
i realized there were things that i looked at everyday but didn't really see.
in january, i want to get those things done...i want to finish the little projects that i always tell myself i really need to do.  i want to glue {or toss} that broken vase, rather than stare at it on the laundry room counter for another nine months {true story}.  i want to change that burnt-out light bulb that's been plaguing me.  and for heaven's sake, i want to get the non-working dehumidifier--the one that's the size of a large toddler--out of my bedroom!

this may not look like your definition of intentional in decorating and housekeeping.  
but for me?...for me, this is what it looks like.
it looks like recognizing the silly little inconveniences that we get used to as we live in a place over the years, and doing something about them.
it looks like putting thought...much thought into what will actually go back up on my walls {and as of right now, that's very little}.
it looks like putting action to some of the ideas i've had for some of my favorite little spaces.
and a little bit, just a little, it looks like viewing my home through different eyes...
shifting out of auto-pilot and actually seeing minor repairs and touch-ups and and dusty corners...and not just seeing them, but doing what's necessary to make them right.

so...
here are some projects on my january docket!

1.  coffee station
i'd seen natalie's coffee bar on instagram, but when i visited her in november, i was even more inspired by the sweet touch of warmth it added to her kitchen area.  i dismissed the idea quickly because we just don't have the space for it.  then, in december, as i was tearing down alllllllllll the decor, it occurred to me that although this open cabinet in our kitchen was full of cute stuff, it was all stufffffff that we rarely--if ever--used.
it's a work-in-progress right now, and since this isn't the reveal post, i'm not sharing all the details.  you'll just have to wait.

2.  tv in our bedroom--working or out
shortly after we moved into this house, we mounted a flat-screen tv to the wall in our bedroom.  shortly after that, we cancelled our cable and haven't looked back.
on our wall, the tv still hangs.  unused for years.  literally.
i'd like to get it in sync with our wi-fi so that we can stream netflix/amazon prime shows on to it...OR...i'd like to get it out of our room.  either option is equally attractive to me.
the point is to just do it.
rather than stare at it for another three years.

3.  "map wall" in the living room
basically, this is an easy one.  well, kind of.
i need to decide whether or not i want to put the map back up.
i know...most of you are probably staring at the second photo and thinking how plain and stark and boring it looks.  but folks, let me tell you, i am so loving my white walls.  like love, love, loving them.  i could stare at them for hours.  
what does this say about me?
wait.  don't answer that.
so, this little job is easy if i decide to put the map back up.
if not...well, then the job isn't so easy.  because then?  then i have to decide what to put up in its place.

4.  juicer off the counter
see, y'all?!  this is exactly the type of thing i'm talking about!
i own a champion juicer.  it was my mom's.  she bought it when i was a teen...a young teen.  
that's been at least a few years ago.
i'm sure the organizing/purging purist would say that i don't use it enough to justify keeping it.
they're wrong.
you don't get rid of a work horse like the champ.
furthermore, i use it often enough that i want to keep it in my kitchen.  just not out on the counter any more.
but we get used to these kinds of things!!!  we look at them everyday.  they may even register as tiny annoyances.  but we do nothing about them...because we are so used to them.
so this month?  i'm finding space in my kitchen for the champion.  but not on the counter.

5.  create mail center in living room work space
the small space you see here is already the command center for all of my blogging/business ventures.  
the blue cabinet is loaded with padded envelopes, shipping labels and tapes, baskets of washi and other packaging/shipping necessities.
remember my new coffee bar?  well, the counter beneath that cabinet is where our mail used to land.  
bills, sales papers, the occasional awana book...that counter was home to it all.
and now...now it isn't.
it only makes sense, since this space is already set up for all my other paperwork needs, to move the mail center out here.  
it won't be a big project, but it will be fun.  this is right up my organizational alley.  i actually can't wait...
and that's said with zero sarcasm whatsoever.
seriously.

6.  make a weekly housecleaning schedule/chart
it may surprise you to know that i don't follow any set schedule for cleaning.  
i'm a the bathroom looks scuzzy, let's clean it sort of cleaner.  with six of us in this house, it doesn't take long for scuzzy to move in; so rest assured, it gets cleaned at least once a week, just not on a set day.
same for vacuuming...oh, the dust bunnies are now building warrens, we'd better vacuum.  our house has hardwood floors...we find new baby bunnies daily.
i'm just finding that it's all getting to be a bit much for me to keep up with just flying by the seat of my pants.  and then there are those chores that never seem to get done that really need to get done.
like dusting.
ugh.  i've hated dusting for my entire life.
wonder which one of the kids i can pay to take that one over?

7. corner cabinet in the dining room
speaking of dusting {or the lack thereof}, check out those shelves.
or rather, maybe don't check out those shelves.
there.  we now know how much erin hates dusting.
moving right along...
i like my vintage pyrex.  i do.  can we all just acknowledge that i said that?  i haven't gone completely off my rocker.  i'm not donating it all to goodwill.
but my tastes have changed a little bit.
ok.  a lottle bit.
i'm going to pack away a set {fridgies and bowls} for each of my three girls.  then i'm going to have a real come-to-Jesus chat with myself about which pieces i just can't live without and which ones i can bear to part with.
what is certain is that none of it is staying out on display.
this cabinet will house some ironstone and white ware and all sorts of pretty white goodness.
the cabinet itself was a gift from my grandma and is gorrrrrrrgeous wood.  
i'm not one of those you-can-never-paint-antique-wood sort of people, but i'm just not ready to slap a coat of annie sloan on this baby quite yet.
anywhoo, i'd like to at least get a start on filling her up this month.

8.  wax seal on toilet
the wax seal on one of our toilets needs to be replaced.  it has a suuuuuuuuuuuuper-slow leak, but a leak nonetheless.  and it's annoying.  and isn't that what this is all about?
why live with it when i can get it fixed? 
boom.

9.  glass-door cabinet in living room
i need to update the decor in this cabinet.  it's been the same for a while and i'm ready for a change.  that's all.  there's nothing fundamentally wrong with it, just ready for change.
oh, and speaking of mail center...you're looking at it right there.  there's all the stufffff from the old mail center, waiting for the development of the new mail center.  we've yet to see if that fab vintage bread box will make the cut into the new design {it holds bills, receipts, etc}.

{oh! and see that tan chair right there?  i'm done with it.  soooooo very done with it.  and my birthday is in two days.  and i've been saving some pennies.  i maaaaaaaayyy be going to IKEA and getting this chair that matches my couch!!!}


10.  mantel
my mantel makes me so happy when it's done up all pretty.
and besides, it was sooooo neglected over the christmas holiday {read all about that in yesterday's saga, if you haven't already} and i'm afraid its feelings will be hurt if it's left alone much longer.

i'm looking at my written-out list, and there are actually two more items on it...but i can't tell you about them right now.
i'll dish on one of them tomorrow...
but the other one...you'll just have to wait a bit on that one.

so tell me, what are your january goals?





8 comments:

  1. It's funny that so many of my goals for this month are like yours-- that rubber maid container that has been sitting in my office for almost a year, filled tand stacked on top to the height of TWO rubbermaid containers(seriously)?!? It will be organized or I will actually have to ground myself. It's bad. My word was going to be intentional and at the last minute I decided on "action".... It is time to take ACTION in so many areas of my life- not just think and imagine and dream about doing theses things, but actually DO them! I am ready. Happy New Year to you, your blog design looks awesome. Love it!

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  2. Hi Erin, I've been following you and Natalie on IG and checking your blogs when I have time. Today your words opened my eyes. I'm not the only one on auto-pilot, not the only one to finally awaken, start taking action....simplify. I feel more alive since I've lost 16 lbs, since I started going room to room sorting, cleaning and decluttering (although I'm still hanging onto my Pyrex :) and favorite vintage items). I feel recharged, thanks for your words. ♥

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  3. Erin, I love these goals! The white trend you are on is awesome. I painted my kitchen and dining room white last week. Ahhh, so much better. Now thanks to you and Natalie Creates, I really want to make room for a coffee bar:) I can't wait to see yours. And if I paint my entire house white this weekend, it's your fault.

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  4. Erin, I am so loving this post/series! I, too, need to simplify something crazy! We live in a smaller home and there are 7 of us in it. Something isn't working! If I buy you a ticket, will you come help?!?! Haha! It's a sickness, I tell ya! I love how you have calmed your spaces, but it's not sterile. Hope you have a great weekend!

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