We are both extremely excited as this is the first home that we both own together. We both shopped with a realtor (JoAnn Reinard from Weidel in New Hope, PA) for a long time (6+ months). We looked at many houses!!! This is not a process I care to repeat (and when my husband asks to purchase a beach house 10 years from now, I will tell him NO).
I will not forget though the first time that Hubby and I looked at our current home. We saw it one time and made an offer! I remember walking into the foyer and sitting on the steps while my husband and JoAnn were elsewhere in the house. The house was empty as the prior owners had moved out (and up, as the prior owner got a better job). There was an echo in the house because of its emptiness. There was also a sense of peace and calm. I could see the sun shining into the home through the window above the front door. I knew, sitting on those steps, that this was going to be my home.
A few trials and tribulations later, it became our home. I have to say a special thank you to my father (aka - our mortgage bank). Without his generosity, Hubby and I would not own this house!
Leading up to getting a new home, I have been reading, listening, and learning to organize a lot. MANY people in blog land provide motivation, ideas, and inspiration. I spring boarded into leaving my messy self behind and becoming organized after listening to the audiobook the Clear and Simple Method by Marla Dee (http://clearsimple.com/). I often re-listen to portions of it in my car. Now that I am in a new house - that is beyond unorganized, I am ready to truly make a change.
The hardest part about starting to organize is the overwhelming feeling of how much there is to do (especially in a brand new house where NOTHING has a real place).
Hopefully pregnancy will be in our future, so if we are blessed with a bundle of joy, I want to bring him (Dear God - please - we really want a son - but will take whatever is in your will....but we really want a son - please) home to a peaceful home where he will every opportunity to grow and prosper.
Our house - right after we purchased it!
Dogs in the kitchen last night - can you see what a mess we are creating - even BEFORE the movers arrived!
I
took this shot about a month ago using a 360 app on my IPhone - this is
the family room, which is open with the dinette area and the kitchen.
This photo also was taken about a month ago - I love this kitchen!
Also
take about a month ago, the master bedroom closet (also taken with the
360 app). My husband said that he knew that this was our house when he
saw the closet - guess that he was right ;-)
And thank goodness that I started reading http://www.abowlfulloflemons.blogspot.com/. Thanks to this blogger, I was reminded about Shaklee's Basic H. I moved into my new home with my Shaklee basic cleaners ready to go! I don't know what I would do without my cleaners! I am able to safely clean my new home (and wipe down drawers and cabinets quickly). At my old house, I used the degreaser and the window cleaner to remove doggy nose prints on my sliding glass doors! I can't wait to more easily keep my whole house clean with Shaklee - and at a fraction of the cost!!!
Here is what the kitchen looked like before I got started with cleaning and organizing:
Oh yeah, I see a big mess that makes me want to run away. I see that nothing has a home.
Some items have already been put away, but there is no plan for my kitchen, so when I pick up stuff, I really do not know what goes where. And I am missing my label maker - I wish I could label the drawers on the outside to get started!!
Moving to the map it stage, I should decide how I want my kitchen to function. So, let me start with the easy moves:
I need glasses near the fridge - done. Glasses are in the cabinet across from the fridge.
I need pots / pans / bake ware near the stove and oven. Pots / Pans will go in the lazy susan, which is next to the stove top. There is a thin cabinet, where I will put cookie sheets. Under the stove, I will store larger pots that cannot fit in the lazy susan (am I spelling that right - it is a corner cabinet that spins).
Mixing bowls should be stored under the island because when I do any cooking (the fact that I cannot cook is for another blog day), I will need access to those items.
Dishes go above the stove to the left and/or in the second cabinet above the sink to the right.
I have two glass cabinet doors. Those are housing my crystal glasses because I want to eventually make those pretty - for now - the one set of nice crystal glasses can be displayed.
Kitchen items are in two drawers in the island. Eating utensils are in the drawer with the organizer for them.
Kitchen towels are in a drawer below the utensils.
So, the above will be organized today and all of the above will be run through the dishwasher (so - 15 loads of dishes for today.....).
