Final to do of 2011

We made a little to do list the other day. Aaand have been working hard the past two days to get things done. The satisfaction in crossing things off that list is nearly audible...and I'm using a Sharpie so you know it's really done! A few of the other tasks are in progress but I'm pumped that by the time we go out tonight they will be all done. It will feel amazing to welcome 2012 into a clean and organized house. Oh lm getting old

Party people

If there is one thing G and I have learned about ourselves it is that we don't want our friends to know how messy/unorganized we can sometimes be! So whenever we have company coming we somehow pull it together and get our space in order. When we lived in the apartment this was easy---we would throw random stuff into our bedroom, shut the door, and there you go...clean as a whistle! Having the house now it isn't so easy...way more surfaces to clean! We had a Halloween party on Saturday night and cleaned our place like crazy people all day Sat. G built all the ikea furniture my mum and I had brought home earlier in the week.(direct quote "while I appreciate you surprising me with ikea stuff it would be an even better surprise if you built it yourself") I don't have the brute force strength or the patience for it...although I blamed him by saying that his tools were in the truck so I couldn't do it anyway (ha!) He assembled and I tidied and we finally got around to tackling the piles of paper that had been building for ages and dishes and laundry were sorted and cleaned. For an added bonus G's mom Char had
come for a visit on Thursday and hung up our decorations! We were party ready way before guests even showed up...we've since discussed that we should have a party every weekend...think of all we'd get done. I hope everyone had a fun as safe Halloween.

Before and after (or: yes I love shoes)

I have complained before about a lack of closet space and this is the area that bothers me the most--no front hall cupboard. Until such a time when we can make the back room our mud room, (likely1-2 years from now) our front door remains the main entrance. As much as we tried to make neat piles of shoes (and G even banished a few pairs of mine to the basement!!!!) this always looked like a cluttered area and it made me nuts. One quick trip to Costco and problem solved:





Granted a shoe rack in the dining room isn't exactly a high point for design, but at least it's cute and tidy.

My mother is always right

I somewhat hate to admit this...but my mother is ALWAYS right. I used to try to fight it but over the years I have come to just accept it. She would tell me to bring a jacket, and I would say I'm not cold. Inevitably 30minutes later I would be freezing...I could go on and on citing examples but I'll get to the point of this post (but trust me the list of examples is endless)
Those of you who know me, or I should say knew what my bedroom looked like when I was growing up, could comment on my untidiness. In fact those who know my mum's obsessive tidy gene might question how I am her daughter. We would have countless "discussions" over the years about the need to have a clean bedroom. My argument was always that it took too long and that it would just get dirty again (excellent argument young Julia!!!) Over and over Mum would repeat her mantra "maintenance!!!!" if you do a little each day then it's never a big job. To which I would scoff as I put away my laundry by throwing it on the floor.....
Fast forward a few years to now. SHE WAS RIGHT!!! (And side note it is way more difficult keeping a house and yard clean than it was just my bedroom, or Garret and my teensy apartment!)
We have been away the past few weekends and going to the gym a few evenings a week which leaves minimal time for a big cleanup. So we had a chat last night about how to best keep stuff organized and you will never guess what we decided....new mantra for the ShWalsh family "maintenance"!
We are going to make a list each week with jobs on it so that we can make sure we are tackling more than just the kitchen and laundry. (and those two things sure pile up quickly too) I wonder how everyone else makes time?! Any pointers? (aside from "always listen to your mother")

With a sigh of utter delight

...I can happily tell you that our back room is no longer the depository for all that has no home/belongs outside! As I said the other day G has now loaded up the shed and the back room lay empty. Thanks to an amazing visionary in the family, (no I'm not tooting my own horn here!!!!) it has been transformed into gorgeous living space! I need to get off my butt and post pics from our good camera but in the meantime please accept some iPhone visual stylings:







We are referring to it as the Back room lounge.... It will be where we retire for our after dinner cocktails! We've discussed putting the hammock in there once the snow falls too! It's amazing to have more living space. Note the doors I have yet to finish sanding (gulp) as decor. We LOVE IT! Next step is painting the floors to complete the cottagey feel.