Truth.

So my life has been kinda busy for the past few years.

Not only did we move to another state to start a creative church from scratch, but this weekend we are launching a concert house. Yawn. Not much goes on around our house.

Yeah. So. What would life be like without a little crazy eyed insanity mixed in? I don’t know. But I’d like to find out someday.

So meanwhile, along with crazy we need a bit of organization. Of course with all we’ve had going on, we haven’t had much time for GETTING organized. Kind of a catch 22. We have been just trying to make it through the day in front of us juggling all the balls and trying not to drop too many.

Because January is the time for turning over a new leaf, I decided I needed an organization intervention. That, and people are starting to look at us funny. Like we really might be disorganized or something. Meh.

One of the things that stops me sometimes from organizing is I have grand ideas of what “organized” should look like. I’ve dreamed about Command Centers forever. I’ve been plotting for quite some time to reorganize and makeover my office, and I’m definitely going to accomplish that in the coming weeks. But I also dream about things like big mud rooms and giant back halls when I have tiny halls and small laundry rooms. Blast.

In my mind, all the ideas I have for organization look perfect, pretty and finished. You know, like Pinterest.

Or like The House of Smiths.

Hey! They made that beauty out of those radiator metal cover things so many of you suggested for my mantel!

So, THAT is pretty much why I don’t have my command center yet. I want to make stuff like that.

And I want a door like that too while I’m at it. Pretty as a picture.

I want a before and a perfect AFTER. Now.

But I don’t have the perfect space or enough time right now for what I might deem a Pinterest-worthy command center. There are other beautifying projects waiting in line ahead of this one. My husband is busy and while he helps me when he can, he is not a big fan of staying up past his bedtime doing DIY projects. And so sometimes my crazy schedule and big dreams for things like awesome command centers derail before they even get started. And so we sit stalled, and disorganized, not able to move forward. Yet, I know it is important and its time has come.

So this week I went to Costco for groceries because sometimes my family gets hungry (the nerve!) and on my way to buy spinach, I spotted THIS.

HELLO GIANT FOUR FOOT MAGNETIC CHALKBOARD!

Behold.  The start of Command Central at my house.

Was it exactly what I pictured? No.

Is it perfectly functional for what I needed? Yes. And I love the smooth writing surface much better than chalkboard paint.

Could I paint the frame if I wanted to or add additional organizational items to my wall with this? Of course!

Did it come with a giant mudroom? Oh, snap. No.

Was there a better solution? Maybe, but sometimes you just have to START somewhere or you’ll never start anywhere.

Was it the deal of the century? Not really.

But was it a timer saver? YES.

So after wresting with my own mind over the options and what to do right there in the aisle at Costco, I decided DONE was going to be good enough this time. I’m a woman on a mission still trying to solve all my goals from last year like making our home work better for us. And nothing is going to stop me.

So I yanked the box out of the holder it was in and awkwardly balanced it in its box on top of my small cart (this chalkboard is HUGE by the way, four feet across and 3 feet tall), steering past the books and into the backsides of a few unsuspecting shoppers to get to the checkout stand. Oops!

Oh, and I had to leave without the spinach because I was too afraid of dropping the box. Home goals from last year trump eating this year.

What I Wore to Costco

{don’t you think that would be an awesome linky party?}

While Pinterest is THE BOMB for dreaming about great ideas, sometimes good enough ideas are found at Costco when we are wearing our classic boring outfit of jeans and Chucks instead of the cute ruffled red coat and polka dot shoes all the cool moms on Instagram are wearing.

Anyhoo…this is my real life. Not too pinterest worthy. I just have to come to terms with the fact that sometimes I have a Costco-inspired life.

In my real life:

I’m OK that my command center is going in the tiny hall by my kitchen for now and not the perfect space.

I don’t have the most awesome stenciled wall ready to hang my command center to make it super cute.

And I’ve come to accept that I don’t have perfectly taped gridlines for my calendars. I can wait.

I’ve made peace with the face that I don’t have the cutest magnets to clip my papers on. What I have works just fine.

I’m OK with not having perfect light glowing through my windows for this picture taken at 10PM last night.

I’m OK with being content in a stage in between the BEFORE and the AFTER.

The important thing is: I finally have a command center and we can feel a little less crazy now. I’m good with that.

Carry on. Maybe next time I show you this I’ll have stenciled walls. Ha. Doubt it.

So what is holding you back from getting organized?

If you struggle with discontentment with where you are or need a little more courage to stay focused on what really matters, I thought this was such an honest, real post (and the fact that she mentioned me was sweet too!!).

Getting Organized

Thought you might enjoy a little round up of some creative spaces for organization.

{Yes, I can read your mind.}

A few of them I’ve shared before and some are new ones I just came across. I thought you might like them too!

You are welcome.

Enjoy.

My Home Ideas

My Home Ideas

My Home Ideas

My Home Ideas

All photos above from: My Home Ideas

BHG

BHG

BHG

BHG

BHG

BHG

I really want to go hang out on that orange window seat.

The end.

We all like to look at pretty pictures and talk about decorating for the holidays. We like to read all the blogs, pin all the pictures, and plan out our holiday decor. Fun fun fun. But for some of us, eh hem, we need to stop dreaming all day about decorating and focus in on something that should come first. I know. Killjoy.

If our home is filled with clutter, too much stuff and is just generally not clean or tidy we should really address those issues first. I know. Hate me. But then we can start holiday decorating with a fresh clean foundation, and that is where the real fun is! Remember one of my favorite little sayings, “You don’t want to put lipstick on a donkey.” That idea cracks me up every time. But it is true. Lipstick on a donkey is not really the look we are going for.

4 Tips: Cleaning Your House for the Holidays

1). Get a jump start.

To get a jump start, I like to grab a box and run through a room of the house, tossing in miscellaneous decor that I don’t need for the holidays. It is fun to make it a game to find maybe 5 to 20 things per room that you don’t need right now. You can do the same thing with clutter, make it a game to run around picking things up. You can even get the kids involved. Getting a jump start is usually all it takes to get me on a roll and motivated to do more.

2). Break it down.

If you want your home clean and decluttered by the end of November, let’s say, you have about six weeks from today to do it. If you wait until Christmas it almost here, you’ll be frustrated and overwhelmed by all you have to do and it will probably make Christmas less than the warm cozy holiday you dream of.

Maybe pick one room to focus on per week and perhaps work on your bathrooms a little bit each week. That seems doable, right? It does to me and I think I’m going to take myself up on my own challenge. If you don’t need to declutter that many areas, maybe just pick one or two rooms and give yourself a week or so each to whip them into shape top to bottom. However you do it, break it down into a manageable project. You can do this! I can do this.

3). Maintain.

Once you get on a roll with cleaning and decluttering, you’ll be inspired to keep going. You can then work on maintaining each room you’ve cleaned and decluttered so it doesn’t get out of hand again. Spend a few minutes every day putting that clean room back to clean. I’ve noticed with myself that if one of my rooms gets super cleaned and organized, it is much more fun to keep it looking good and I enjoy the process all the more. It is always easier to maintain than to start over again. Kind of like dieting. But let’s not talk about that.

4). Reward.

Once a room is clean and organized, THEN add a little Christmas to the room! You’ll feel an immediate sense of reward for your effort!

In fact, I love to add a touch of Christmas to every room!

Happy holiday cleaning!

What room do you really need to tackle before the holidays?

We are on day 17 of my 31 Days: Inspired for the Holidays series!
Catch up on the past few posts:

Day 13: The Most Versatile Seasonal Decoration

Day 14: Holiday Decorating Power of Three

Day 15:  Hot Spiced Cranberry Cider

Day 16: Holiday Decorating: Fresh Inspiration

And be sure to check out the rest of the 31 Day Participants!

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