It must be something with the changing of the seasons, because I'm having a good time with the household move we've made. Instead of being stressed about what to get rid of and where to put what's left, I'm actually trying to take the time to sit back, take one room at a time, and get it exactly how I want it.
The kitchen was a lot of fun, because I am used to a totally different workspace. Instead of a wide kitchen with an island that was great for food prep but inconvenient for food storage and actual cooking (don't ask how many times I spilled things trying to get to the stove, or how many times the dog was banished from the room for tripping me), now I have a galley kitchen. I thought it'd be a real hassle, frankly, and the dog is still banished, but having my refrigerator, stove, and microwave along the same side of the room, right along with the cabinets that contain all of the food and cooking supplies on that same side, is an amazing convenience!
Now I have to head on to the other rooms, which are taking a smidge longer. I got some great tips from the October issue of SELF; here are my top 3 tips from their list that I've been trying to apply. They work!
- Create a conversation area. Don't just line up furniture along the living room walls. Make sure that your TV and tables don't create barriers to a group's conversation by keeping things cozy. If you're not facing each other, it's time to angle some furniture!
- Cut out the crowd. Get rid of some stuff if there's clutter everywhere! Keep what has the most use and the most value, then sell or donate the rest. (Who knows? You may make a profit.) Having cluttered spaces makes me crazy -- keeping surfaces open makes them easier to clean and more enjoyable to look at.
- Don't go shopping just yet! Get rid of things you abhore, arrange what you have left -- then decide if you absolutely must make any purchases. I knew I needed a microwave, since my old house had a built-in over the range, and this house doesn't. Tempting as it was to go buy a bunch of goodies for the kitchen last week, I limited myself to a microwave until everything was organized. (The upside of really sticking with the budget? I found a microwave that was exactly what I wanted and was on sale. It left me enough to get a Brita pitcher, which replaces the filtered icemaker/water feature on my old fridge. Good appliance karma, perhaps?)
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