Live More With Less: Week 1

It's been a good week.  I've exercised every day this week, except one busy day (a day in which I chased my niece in the yard for approximately 24 seconds, in jeans - that counts, right?).  

My Runkeeper app says I went 18 miles, some walking, some running.  Two of those miles were a '3 minute/mile walk'... which basically means I left the app on while driving in a car.  So we'll go with 16 miles.  It helps that it's been great weather, but it's also nice to know it's a required part of my day, so it's not an "if," it's a "when."

So, as promised in this post, I joined Emily of Imperfect in tackling one room of my house this week, namely our bedroom.

In all honesty, this is what our bedroom can look like on any given day.

Keeping it real here people.

The problem is, we spend most of our time in the kitchen and living room.  Most of my daily efforts are focused on keeping up with those rooms, as they see the most daily wear.  I've been known to start sorting laundry on our bed in the morning, leave it unfinished, and not come back in there and see it until it's time for bed and Laundry Mountain is staring me in the face.  So then it gets shoved back in the basket, set on the floor, and ignored for three days.  But my dishes are clean!

I recently moved this room around, since I was totally bored by the way it was.  I'd like to note that this is NOT the most efficient layout of the room, but it works for now.

So here is my official 'before' picture and my list:

To Do:
- Reprimand husband and dog
- Dust all surfaces, art, curtains, lightswitches, etc
- Wipe down baseboards
- Vacuum under the bed (eew)
- Mop
- Fix the terrible green/black striped small dresser (more on that below)
- Remove clutter
- Fix up "nightstand" 
- Organize dresser
- Paint trim
- Lower brown frames/fill holes/paint

So, here's where we got:

• Reprimand husband and dog - inserted cute baby instead
• Dust all surfaces, art, curtains, lightswitches, etc - yes!  and eew.
• Wipe down baseboards - yes!  a great feeling!
• Vacuum under the bed (eew) - yes!  and eew. lots of dust bunnies. (fun factoid:  Tony insists on keeping this ridiculous wooden bat under the bed...as if he could actually find it if needed, and as if our two huge dogs wouldn't work better...)
• Mop - yes!
• Fix the terrible green/black striped small dresser (more on that below) - in process
• Remove clutter - good enough
• Fix up "nightstand" - made it work
• Organize dresser - tbd
• Paint trim - sorta
• Lower brown frames/fill holes/paint - nope.

I didn't paint the entire trim (but would like to one day), but there was one window ledge that was so gross - from dogs looking out and a poor paint job from the prior owners.  The nasty window ledge before and after:

 We usually don't have room for a nightstand, but since I like to keep the video monitor by my bed for crazy-mom night checks (few and far between these days, but frequent in the early months!), I needed a nightstand.  

Those suckers are expensive!  So I worked with what I had and used a TV tray covered in a bed sheet and tied with a scarf (thanks Court!).  It aint pretty - but until we find something we like that's affordable (preferably at the thrift store), this is what I've got.  I gussied it up with a little dressing jar covered in scrap paper.  Don't judge my random reading selection I've got going right now...

The little teal toy basket is clutter, but it's my stash of distractions for Harper while she watches me pretend to fold laundry or get dressed.

The frames didn't get lowered.

They are holdovers from when the bed was on that wall.  I printed those pictures ages ago, and while they are nice, I want something with a little more color.  Or perhaps replace them altogether with one larger piece.  So they look ridiculous, but I didn't want to make new holes if I'm not going to keep them there.  I'm on the lookout, but don't want to rush-buy anything.  I also kinda hate the stuff on the dresser, but again, working with what I've got.

The closet and the dresser are going to be tackled in week 5.  

Now this dresser.  Remember this post, ohhh, like TWO years ago?  I asked you guys how I should paint this 90s monstrosity.  

The consensus was white with a stained top.  I was all for it.  Then I got knocked up and did nothing for the past year and a half.  Oy.  But this week, I finally got the process started.  However, thanks to weather and a six month old, it's not done.  Look for that post coming soon (but don't hold your breath).

So there you have it.  Freshened up bedroom.  It was so nice to finally give this room some love instead of neglecting it.

Here's what the next few weeks look like:

Week 1: Our Bedroom

Week 2: Guest Room

Week 3: Harper's Room

Week 4: Bathrooms

Week 5: Assorted Closets/ Laundry Room

Week 6: Outside

Week 7: Kitchen/Living Room (hopefully we will have finished up our big projects in there by then)